Russian tankers under sanctions went to the English Channel: the British plane took the trail

A group of Russian tankers under sanctions headed for the English Channel and is on the way to the strait. The vessel is tracking the UK Coast Guard aircraft. Perhaps the vessels are accompanied by Russian ships, as all other sanctioned vessels continue to bypass the UK after the seizure of the Smyrtos tanker from the north.

Three tankers under sanctions and with Russian oil are approaching the English Channel, transporting cargo from the Baltic port of Primorsk. According to AIS vessels, the first is the 244-meter Provider. It can carry up to 105 thousand tons of oil and is under EU, UK and US sanctions. At 18.00, the ship was separated from the strait by 71 miles.

Next come Nasledie (105 thousand tons) Transformer (115 thousand tons). These tankers are also under Western sanctions. All tankers are heading to Asia. If one of them indicates Singapore as the final destination, the rest are still called the transit point — the Suez Canal.

Unlike many other tankers of the shadow fleet, these vessels are sailing under the Russian flag and may be escorted through the strait by Russian warships.

At least, the patrol aircraft of the UK Coast Guard has already begun to track the path of a group of vessels.

The vessels carry up to 2.4 million barrels of oil, the price of which can be more than $ 100 million. According to Equasis, since April of this year, the tankers have been operated by Dominant Shipping, which is registered in St. Petersburg.

Three tankers will carry out the third passage through the strait of vessels under sanctions after the British Navy seized the Smyrtos sanctions tanker under the flag of Cameroon in the British waters of the English Channel in mid-June. British media wrote that London is trying to get the ship's registration cancelled in Cameroon in order to get a formal reason, and plans to sell oil from the tanker.

After the seizure, three more tankers passed through the English Channel under sanctions and with Russian oil. In the beginning it was done by Forwarder, and then by Gefest and Pluto. These vessels also sailed under the Russian flag and may have been accompanied by Russian ships, as the British Navy followed the vessels, but did not take active action.

Perhaps the current passage will also be indicative, taking into account the Russian flag of the vessels. Tankers under sanctions and other flags continue to bypass the English Channel. According to AIS vessels, on July 9, tankers Salut, Mystery and Listiga went to the North Sea through the north around the UK.

As EADaily reported, oil exports from Russia continues to grow and more and more supplies of oil and petroleum products from the Baltic region are transferred to tankers that are not under sanctions, and they freely cross the English Channel. At the same time countries The EU and the UK continue to look for reasons to seize sanctioned tankers. Since sanctions cannot be a legal reason, they are looking for vessels without a flag, which formally have nothing to do with They don't have Russia.

France is more active than other EU countries in seizing shadow fleet tankers with Russian oil, but also releases them more often — after paying a fine. In fact, the French "sanctions" have become a payment for the passage of Europe. Not yet critical — $ 3 per barrel.