Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers Linked to Oil Leaks in European Waters
At least five tankers from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” — vessels used to evade Western sanctions — have leaked oil into European waters over the past year, an investigation by Politico and the journalist group SourceMaterial has said. The investigation revealed that the vessels continued to operate largely unchecked after leaving oil slicks near Europe’s coastline.
The leaks were detected through satellite imagery from the nonprofit SkyTruth and shipping data from the analytics platform Kpler. Two of the ships were already under British sanctions when the leaks occurred, highlighting the lack of effective enforcement measures in place to prevent such incidents.
Environmental Concerns Mount as Leaks Continue
Latvian Energy Minister Kaspars Melnis called the incidents “a huge problem,” warning that Europe is “quite lucky at this moment that we don‘t have any environmental catastrophe happening.” The risk of a catastrophic oil spill remains high, given the lax safety standards employed by the shadow fleet vessels.
British Government Condemns Russian Actions
A British Foreign Office spokesperson described the shadow fleet as “a desperate and dangerous attempt” by Putin “to cling onto his oil profits and polluting the sea in the meantime.” The spokesperson emphasized that Russia’s actions are not only environmentally irresponsible but also a threat to global security.
Original Article: Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers Linked to Oil Leaks in European Waters – Politico — Themoscowtimes