The Swedish broadcasting company SVT found an oil tanker that has been operating off Gotland for months. Fuel is pumped from the ship into Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.
Today, Tuesday morning, you can see how the Zircone oil tanker belonging to the Cyprus registry is anchored in front of Gotland on the Marine Traffic website, which is open today. According to Marine Traffic, the ship originally arrived on March 23 from Ventspils, Latvia.
From the website, you can see how another ship is anchored on the side of Zircone. It is the cargo ship Alexandros III on its way from Rotterdam to Laukaansuu, Russia. It will probably be fueled by Zircone.
SVT has traced 56 refueling operations from open sources in two months. Most of them, i.e. 52, have joined ships that are either coming from Russia or going there.
Most of the ships seeking fuel replenishment from Zircone belong to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, concludes SVT. The shadow fleet refers to old ships that usually lack insurance and whose ownership relationships may be unclear.
– This is an environmental ticking time bomb, says the energy researcher Henrik Wachtmeister from Uppsala University to SVT.
The Latvian company does not care about sanctions
Zircone belongs to the Latvian Fastbunkering company and, according to SVT, is a well-known operator in freight traffic. Unlike many of its competitors, Fastbunkering offers its services to ships carrying Russian oil.
Company manager Alexei Volkov justifies the action by email to SVT. He states that EU sanctions allow a certain amount of oil transport to Russia and therefore services like theirs are needed.
Zircone is anchored just outside Swedish territorial waters. Although Zircone’s operation is legal, it worries the Swedish authorities.
According to SVT, the ship is under continuous surveillance by the Swedish Coast Guard. its crew is believed to be Russian.
The Coast Guard also opened a preliminary investigation into Zircone for possible environmental crimes because it did not have a license from the Swedish Transport Agency. However, the investigation has been closed.
However, the investigation led to Fastbunkering applying for a permit for its operations from the Transport Agency. The agency granted Fastbunkering permission to deliver one million liters of fuel to Zircone off Gotland.