Russian tankers are hiding near Singapore

Tankers loaded with russian fuel oil anchored off Singapore and Malaysia before EU sanctions.

During the week to October 24, about 1.1 million tons of fuel oil with a high sulfur content were stored on ships, which is more than double the volume of the previous year, according to Bloomberg.

Singapore is the largest ship bunkering and oil distribution center in Asia. The state’s water area, in particular near the Malaysian port of Tanjung Pelepas or the Johor Strait, can be used for transshipment of petroleum products or crude oil from ship to ship. This practice is often used to disguise the origin of the cargo.

Russian fuel oil is sometimes transported by several vessels before it reaches floating storage. For example, the vessel Sagar Violet first loaded fuel oil in Ust-Luz in russia, then unloaded part of the cargo to the tanker Parosea near Malaysia. And then Parosea transferred part of the fuel to Fortune Star, which is now anchored near Tanjung Pelepas, – Vortexa LTD analysts report.

Currently, almost 65% of all Russian flows with a destination in Singapore end up with storage tankers around Tanjung Pelepass. It is expected that an increasing amount of oil and oil products will enter Asia. Analysts predict that raw materials will be stored on tankers around Singapore and Malaysia, as the ban on the import of russian oil by sea, agreed by the European Union in the sixth package of sanctions, is approaching.

Previously, USM wrote that Russia is trying to quickly build up its fleet before the oil embargo.