Sanctions Fail to Stem Illicit Bunker Trade
The European Union recently adopted the 20th sanctions package against Russian products, and the United Nations passed Resolution 2819, which extends sanctions on Libyan products. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is constantly making new additions as Americans use sanctions as part of their arsenal of foreign policy tools.
As an industry participant reporting from the ground, I can clearly say that, as far as the bunker industry is concerned, all these sanctions are largely ineffective because there is little enforcement, if any. It leads to unfair competition, where those who are willing can offer bunker prices that are 100 dollars or more cheaper than those who choose to follow the rules.
Unscrupulous Players Exploit Loopholes
In my experience, there is no shortage of buyers, from premium to little known, that either do not question how such low prices are possible, or simply don’t care enough just as long as the price is right. “ Obviously, nobody is even looking at a map and wondering how the logistics would work” if I, with my credit and compliance hat on, before the war can see from satellite imagery that a UAE bunker supplier’s barge is alongside a National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) tanker, clearly carrying out a ship-to-ship transfer (STS) and returning to supply bunkers to an American-operated vessel via a European bunker trader, then surely the intelligence agencies can also see that.
Illicit Operations Flourish
They too would certainly also be aware of the ‘two-tier market’ and its participants, but very rarely, if ever, is any action taken to enforce their own regulations. They also completely buy the story that a distant, landlocked Asian country with its own gasoil deficit is exporting shiploads of diesel into the Mediterranean. Obviously, nobody is even looking at a map and wondering how the logistics would work, or how it is possible to sell at the levels we are offered every week by clandestine vendors.
The Dark Side of Bunker Supply
In terms of cargo supply, there is an even higher level than this: the ‘stolen from illicit operations’ category. These are simply the leftovers gained through means such as smuggling products on board vessels. They are also available on the market at very attractive prices, “trimmed from the smugglers” in a chain of illicitness.
Consequences for Seafarers
The working conditions of seafarers on these vessels are atrocious, but that is another subject entirely.
Original Article: VIEWPOINT: The Challenge of Staying Clean in the Bunker Industry — Shipandbunker