Bloomberg: A “shadow fleet” is being formed in the world to serve Moscowʼs oil interests

In the world "to serve the interests of Moscow" a huge shadow fleet of tankers with unknown owners is being created. This is reported in the Bloomberg article.

"If you look at how many ships have been sold over the past six months to undisclosed buyers, it’s very clear that a fleet is being built up in order to transport this," said Christian Ingerslev, chief executive officer of Maersk Tankers A/S.

Previously, 240 ships were purchased for the "shadow fleet", including 80 very large oil tankers. The vessels are being bought by unknown companies based in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Cyprus.

Buyersʼ interest is mainly focused on the types and classes of vessels that will be actively used to move Urals and ESPO oil from their export terminals. One such tanker is the icebreaking Aframaxes, the smallest of the major international tankers, which can carry 650,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil through shallower waters and from smaller ports.

Shipbrokers also saw an increase in trade in non-ice-class Aframaxes aged 15 years and over. Some of these tankers are expected to appear in Eastern Siberia, where they will help transport Russian ESPO oil to buyers, including Chinese and Indian refiners.

• On October 6, the European Union approved the eighth package of sanctions against Russia. It contains a ban on the import of Russian products worth €7 billion and a cap on oil prices. The EU also extended sanctions against individuals and Russian companies involved in illegal "referendums" on the territory of Ukraine.
• At the beginning of September, the USA announced that the G7 countries would set a price limit for Russian oil by December 5. Countries want to see it at the level of $40-60 per barrel, which will seriously affect Russian revenues. The US Treasury proposes to limit the price of Russian oil to $60 per barrel.