Russian Oil Trade Ties Revealed in US-Struck Iranian Tankers
Three of five Iranian oil tankers struck by the US military on 8 September were also involved in Russia’s oil trade and sanctions-evasion network, according to Ukraine’s presidential sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk. The vessels – Kaviz, Charminar, and Riesco – had carried Russian oil, visited Russian ports, or operated alongside vessels already under sanctions.
The three tankers illustrate how Russia and Iran’s efforts to move sanctioned oil can overlap. According to Vlasiuk, the networks share vessels, shipping managers, intermediaries, and routes. Kaviz had called at Russia’s Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk ports and carried Russian oil. It was also linked to Fractal Marine DMCC, a company that became a major operator of vessels used to transport Russian oil after Western sanctions were imposed.
Charminar had visited several Russian ports, including Ust-Luga, Primorsk, Vysotsk, and St Petersburg. Vlasiuk said it was connected to a shipping network controlled by Iranian oil magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, which handles both Iranian and Russian oil. Riesco had also transported oil from both countries, including through ship-to-ship transfers involving other sanctioned tankers.
Russia’s Shadow Fleet: A Hybrid-Warfare Tool
Russia’s 1,392-vessel shadow fleet is now a hybrid-warfare tool. It will continue as long as its export capacity remains unharmed. The vessels were already sanctioned by Ukraine and the US, while Kaviz was also under sanctions from the EU, UK, Canada, and Switzerland.
The US military struck five Iranian oil tankers on 8 September, according to Ukrinform, following Iran’s attempts to attack a US Navy vessel. The strikes brought renewed attention to the networks used to transport Iranian oil despite sanctions.
Original Article: US struck 5 Iranian tankers – 3 were also linked to Russia’s shadow fleet — Euromaidan Press