Latvian bunkerers refuel sanctioned Russian tankers

Latvian vessels continue to supply fuel to Russian tankers belonging to the “shadow fleet”. There are no legal mechanisms to stop such operations yet.

Two tankers linked to Latvia – Zircone and Rina – continue to refuel vessels of the Russian “shadow fleet”, reports Latvian media outlet TW3.

One of them, Zircone, this week returned to the port of Riga, where it was inspected but not detained. After the inspection, the vessel returned to sea and resumed supplying fuel to tankers bound for Russian ports, including those that have been drifting for a long time near the submarine cables between Ventspils and Gotland.

Zircone, which formally flies the Cypriot flag, is based in Latvia and is engaged in bunkering ships. Most of its clients are Russian tankers transporting oil to India and China in circumvention of sanctions.

During the last call at the port of Riga, the vessel was inspected by Customs officials, who found eight technical deficiencies, but no serious violations were recorded. According to Latvian law, bunkering is not prohibited if the fuel is supplied in neutral waters – outside the jurisdiction of customs control.

“If a vessel tranships oil products in neutral waters, it is no longer under the control of Latvian customs. From our side, the export is formalized, and the cargo is considered exported,” explained Sandra Karklina-Adminine, deputy director of the Customs Department.

According to a journalistic investigation, Zircone recently refueled the Maltese-flagged tanker Minerva Pisces, which then sailed to the Russian port of Primorsk. The vessel then serviced Rainbow – another tanker suspected of transporting Russian oil. Its insurer is Maritime Mutual from New Zealand, which is suspected of facilitating the circumvention of sanctions by Iran and Russia.

The Rainbow tanker drifted for two weeks in October in Latvian waters near an undersea cable connecting Latvia and Sweden. It was accompanied by another suspicious vessel, the Ak Ana, which also later entered a Russian port.

Prime Minister Evika Silinė said that the Latvian government is “quite tough” on the issue of the “shadow fleet,” and the Baltic Sentry initiative is intended to ensure control over its activities. However, in practice, officials admit, it is impossible to ban the refueling of suspicious vessels.