Energy News Beat
An investigation by Ukrainska Pravda (UP) has found that Russian oil continues to flow into the EU despite sanctions, with shipments under the flags of Liberia and Panama reaching the ports of Romania and Bulgaria, both EU and NATO members.
Nearly three years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions designed to weaken the Russian economy have failed to halt its oil exports.
Despite sanctions on Russian oil, the EU paid approximately €140 billion for oil and gas in 2022, including €80 billion for oil, according to the Financial Times. This financial support has enabled Russia to continue funding its military aggression against Ukraine.
Russia’s oil revenues are a key source of funding for its war operations, with military spending projected to rise to US$142 billion by 2025.
“We’ll have a full import ban on Russian seaborne oil,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared in May 2022, just two months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Yet an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, who was on the ground in Romania and later Bulgaria to witness shipments arriving first-hand, has revealed that Russian oil was still reaching EU ports in November 2024.
Using data from MarineTraffic, a global platform providing real-time information on ship movements, Ukrainska Pravda tracked two Russian oil tankers as they arrived in EU countries.
On 8 and 9 November 2024, the Lipari (Liberia-flagged) and Sredina (Panama-flagged) tankers, carrying 160,000 tonnes of light crude oil, docked at EU ports after departing from the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The Russian oil reached the EU on 10 November 2024, a day on which Russia’s attacks on Ukraine went on for over 15 hours.
Sredina
The Sredina spent a week offshore, about 10 kilometres from the coast near the Romanian port of Constanța.
On 17 November, it was finally tugged in the early hours of the morning, at around 02:00. Alongside it was the Melahat, another Panama-registered tanker, which was involved in a ship-to-ship oil transfer.
The following day, UP’s Mykhailo Tkach sailed out on a small boat in an attempt to reach the location where the oil transfer was taking place. From a distance, the tankers looked like tiny dots on the horizon. The Melahat was seen with the Sredina behind it.
“Now imagine how many such transfers happen throughout the year here, far out to sea. And how many such transfers are taking place in other countries – Bulgaria, Türkiye, Greece, Italy, Spain, and so on,” Tkach said. “What we’ve shown in this video is just the tip of the iceberg.”
On 26 November 2024, the Melahat, which had taken on oil from the Sredina the previous week, docked with the VF Tanker 3, a Russian-registered vessel, in Romanian territorial waters.
“This is the first time we’ve seen oil being transferred to the EU not with shadow fleet tankers registered in offshore jurisdictions, but with a Russian-registered vessel,” Tkach said.
The VF Tanker 3 had arrived in Romania directly from the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The Lipari
On 10 November, just before arriving at the Romanian port, the Lipari tanker unexpectedly diverted to Bulgaria. The Liberian-registered tanker docked at Rosinets, the largest oil refinery on the Balkan Peninsula. Formerly owned by Russian giant Lukoil, the refinery was nationalised by Bulgaria in September 2023.
As the Lipari approached, the Stamos, a Malta-registered tanker, left the Rosinets refinery. This tanker had previously visited Russia twice in 2023. The Lipari and the Stamos joined each other at sea.
“A ship-to-ship transfer of oil may be taking place between them,” Tkach said. “That’s what the Russian shadow fleet does. The tankers meet far from the shore, so we can’t reach them on our first attempt.”
In 2022, the European Commission granted Bulgaria an exemption to import and refine Russian oil until the end of 2024, securing its domestic supply. However, this exemption led to Bulgaria receiving more Russian oil than necessary, indirectly enabling Russia to sell oil to third parties.
A report by Global Witness, CREA, and the Center for the Study of Democracy revealed that in the first 10 months of 2023, the Rosinets refinery processed nearly 5 million tonnes of Russian oil, generating almost €1 billion in direct tax revenue for the Kremlin.
“As Vladimir Putin has noted, that is the amount spent in one year on the Wagner Group,” Tkach pointed out.
In 2023, Bulgaria passed a law to stop the import of Russian oil, with a target of reducing Russian oil use at the Rosinets refinery to 80% by the end of 2023, and completely halting imports by October 2024. Yet as of November 2024, the transfer of oil continues.
“A ship-to-ship transfer at sea takes about 24 hours,” Tkach said.
The following day, when Tkach returned to observe the tankers, he confirmed that the transfer had taken place. The Lipari had unloaded its cargo, while the Stamos had taken on the oil.
“This is how the Russian shadow fleet works, right here in the EU,” Tkach said.
The Altai
On the morning of 17 November, the Altai, a tanker registered in the Marshall Islands, arrived in Constanța, Romania, after departing from Novorossiysk. The crew consisted of 19 Russian citizens and 2 Georgians.
“This is the third tanker to have transported Russian oil to Romania and Bulgaria in the past week, after the Lipari in Burgas and the Sredina near Constanța,” Mykhailo Tkach said.
The Altai headed to the Romanian port of Midia, its identity confirmed by its blue hull and online tracking data.
On 17 November, Ukraine suffered one of Russia’s largest missile attacks, targeting its energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, three Romanian tugboats – Tirreno, Bucuresti and Astana – were towing the Altai about 10 km off the Romanian coast.
Text messages obtained by Ukrainska Pravda that had been sent by Ivan Bogdanov, a Russian sailor on board the Altai, revealed that the tanker had been anchored in Romanian waters for nearly a week before heading back to Novorossiysk for reloading. The text exchange also indicated that the crew were aware of the tanker’s operations in the region.
The Seajewel
The Seajewel tanker was seen unloading at the Romanian port of Constanța after arriving from Ceyhan, Türkiye. Sources in law enforcement told Ukrainska Pravda that the tanker was scheduled to head to Novorossiysk, Russia, for reloading.
The European Anti-Fraud Office is currently conducting an investigation into Russian oil deliveries through Turkish ports, which have no refining capabilities.
Despite sanctions, EU countries imported over 5 million tonnes of Russian oil worth €3 billion via Türkiye during the year following the 5 February 2023 embargo. The Seajewel is one of the tankers involved, having taken on oil three times in Russia this year (in February, March and May) before returning after each unloading.
MarineTraffic confirmed that the tanker was off the coast of Türkiye and heading back to Novorossiysk.
Meanwhile, the Minerva Pacifica had arrived at the Port of Midia in Romania from Türkiye. According to law enforcement sources, the Minerva Pacifica was loaded twice in Russia this year and made four trips to Russia in 2023.
[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski/Owen Morgan]
The post Russia continues to ship oil directly to the EU despite sanctions, investigation finds appeared first on Euractiv.
The post Russia continues to ship oil directly to the EU despite sanctions, investigation finds appeared first on Energy News Beat.
