“Ship to ship” transshipment of Russian diesel increased in the Aegean Sea

The number of STS (“ship-to-ship”) operations with Russian diesel fuel is increasing in the Aegean Sea.

We will remind, in February 2023, a full embargo of the European Union on the import of Russian oil products came into force. Therefore, traders redirected diesel exports from Russian ports to Brazil, Turkey, African countries, Asia and STS loadings. STS downloads make it difficult for Western countries to track trade in Russian oil products, enkorr writes  with reference to LSEG.

The international waters off Greece’s Laconian Gulf have become one of the most popular places to load Russian STS oil products due to their proximity to both Russian ports and the Suez Canal, which provides access to Asian markets.

In July, at least four vessels carrying about 123,000 metric tons of diesel fuel and gas oil loaded at the Russian Black Sea ports of Taman and Tuapse departed for transshipment in neutral waters south of the Greek island of Chios, according to LSEG data.

According to traders and shipping data, three more vessels were loaded in Tuapse with a total of about 100,000 tonnes of gas oil in August and are also heading to the STS south of the islands in the northern Aegean Sea.

Previously, USM reported that Israel imposed sanctions against 18 Iranian tankers: some of them were transporting Russian oil.

The photo is illustrative.