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- Oct 26, 2018
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TOKYO -- An estimated 300,000 barrels of Russian petroleum made their way to the U.K. in June despite government claims of zero oil imports from Russia that month, Nikkei research suggests. Being unable to ascertain the origin of some oil, authorities are believed to not add such imports to official statistics.
The U.K. has urged companies to reduce dealings with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, and plans to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
But that pressure has led to a surge in ship-to-ship cargo transfers in the Mediterranean, raising concern that official data may not paint a full picture of the flow of oil leaving Russia.
Using satellite imagery from U.S.-based Planet Labs, ship data from U.K.-based Refinitiv and transaction data from European commodities research firm Kpler , Nikkei found that a tanker carrying Russian oil docked at Immingham on the eastern coast of England on June 4. The ship had unloaded its cargo by June 6.
The oil began its journey from the Russian port of Tuapse, facing the Black Sea. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Blue Trader left the port on April 30, followed by the Mariner III, sailing under the flag of Panama, on May 6.
The two vessels made their way to waters near Greece, where they transferred the oil to the Maltese-flagged tanker Marinoula by May 11. Satellite images show the ships aligned side by side, a position known to be used during cargo transfers.
Refinitiv data for the ships' draft -- how deeply they sit in the water, an indicator for the weight of their cargo -- also points to a ship-to-ship transfer off Greece. The figures for the first two tankers decreased to 7 meters and 8 meters, respectively, in the Mediterranean from 11.2 meters and 9.5 meters. The Marinoula's draft increased to 12 meters from 7.6 meters, then returned to 7.6 meters at Immingham.
The shipment totaled roughly 300,000 barrels of HSSRFO (high sulfur straight run fuel oil) produced by Russia's state-run Rosneft, according to Kpler data. It can be refined to produce heavy fuel oil as well as asphalt.
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After departing from a Russian port, the Panama-flagged Mariner III transferred oil to the U.K.-bound Marinoula in May. © Planet Labs PBC
The U.K. imported around 5 million barrels of petroleum from Russia in November 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine began, according to the International Energy Agency. The June shipment amounts to 6% of that figure.
The oil was initially brokered by Trafigura, a commodities trading company with extensive Rosneft business ties. Trafigura sold the oil to Prax Group, a midsize British oil supplier with 12 offices around the world.
Prax by March 2021 had acquired Lindsey Oil Refinery, which is connected by pipeline to the Immingham port, from French energy group Total, now TotalEnergies. Products from the refinery are shipped all over the U.K. by road and rail.
When asked how it handles Russian oil, a spokesperson for Immingham port operator Associated British Ports declined to comment on specific shipments but said it complies with U.K. policy. "We will take vessels into our ports if the British government say they are legitimate to be here. If they do not, then we will not allow them into our ports," the spokesperson said.
London, one of the most vocal Western backers of sanctions on Moscow, announced a phaseout of Russian oil imports on March 8 under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government urged British companies to reduce their dealings with Russia.
On Aug. 24, the U.K. Office of National Statistics declared that the country had imported no oil, gas or other fossil fuels from Russia in June.
"There have been increases in imports of refined oil from Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Kuwait in recent months; partially compensating for reduced imports from Russia," the office said in a report.
But the potential ship-to-ship transfer off Greece suggests this assertion may not reflect the actual flow of goods.
Information on a shipment's country of origin does not change in ship-to-ship transfers, according to the U.K. HM Revenue and Customs, so cases like the one described would be recorded as imports from Russia.
London gives importers 90 days to declare goods after arrival, and thus Prax may report its oil shipment in a later month.
Ship-to-ship transfers make it harder to determine where cargo originates. The U.S. State Department says such transfers have been used to conceal the origin of oil from Iran, and a United Nations Security Council report warned that North Korea has repeatedly evaded sanctions in this way.
Some oil and commodities traders are "well versed in finding ways to make the most money as they can within the current sanctions regime," said Louis Goddard, senior data investigations adviser for nongovernmental organization Global Witness. "It's really up to governments to implement sanctions in a way that there was no possibility of circumvention."
The U.K. has urged companies to reduce dealings with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, and plans to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
But that pressure has led to a surge in ship-to-ship cargo transfers in the Mediterranean, raising concern that official data may not paint a full picture of the flow of oil leaving Russia.
Using satellite imagery from U.S.-based Planet Labs, ship data from U.K.-based Refinitiv and transaction data from European commodities research firm Kpler , Nikkei found that a tanker carrying Russian oil docked at Immingham on the eastern coast of England on June 4. The ship had unloaded its cargo by June 6.
The oil began its journey from the Russian port of Tuapse, facing the Black Sea. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Blue Trader left the port on April 30, followed by the Mariner III, sailing under the flag of Panama, on May 6.
The two vessels made their way to waters near Greece, where they transferred the oil to the Maltese-flagged tanker Marinoula by May 11. Satellite images show the ships aligned side by side, a position known to be used during cargo transfers.
Refinitiv data for the ships' draft -- how deeply they sit in the water, an indicator for the weight of their cargo -- also points to a ship-to-ship transfer off Greece. The figures for the first two tankers decreased to 7 meters and 8 meters, respectively, in the Mediterranean from 11.2 meters and 9.5 meters. The Marinoula's draft increased to 12 meters from 7.6 meters, then returned to 7.6 meters at Immingham.
The shipment totaled roughly 300,000 barrels of HSSRFO (high sulfur straight run fuel oil) produced by Russia's state-run Rosneft, according to Kpler data. It can be refined to produce heavy fuel oil as well as asphalt.
.
The U.K. imported around 5 million barrels of petroleum from Russia in November 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine began, according to the International Energy Agency. The June shipment amounts to 6% of that figure.
The oil was initially brokered by Trafigura, a commodities trading company with extensive Rosneft business ties. Trafigura sold the oil to Prax Group, a midsize British oil supplier with 12 offices around the world.
Prax by March 2021 had acquired Lindsey Oil Refinery, which is connected by pipeline to the Immingham port, from French energy group Total, now TotalEnergies. Products from the refinery are shipped all over the U.K. by road and rail.
When asked how it handles Russian oil, a spokesperson for Immingham port operator Associated British Ports declined to comment on specific shipments but said it complies with U.K. policy. "We will take vessels into our ports if the British government say they are legitimate to be here. If they do not, then we will not allow them into our ports," the spokesperson said.
London, one of the most vocal Western backers of sanctions on Moscow, announced a phaseout of Russian oil imports on March 8 under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government urged British companies to reduce their dealings with Russia.
On Aug. 24, the U.K. Office of National Statistics declared that the country had imported no oil, gas or other fossil fuels from Russia in June.
"There have been increases in imports of refined oil from Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Kuwait in recent months; partially compensating for reduced imports from Russia," the office said in a report.
But the potential ship-to-ship transfer off Greece suggests this assertion may not reflect the actual flow of goods.
Information on a shipment's country of origin does not change in ship-to-ship transfers, according to the U.K. HM Revenue and Customs, so cases like the one described would be recorded as imports from Russia.
London gives importers 90 days to declare goods after arrival, and thus Prax may report its oil shipment in a later month.
Ship-to-ship transfers make it harder to determine where cargo originates. The U.S. State Department says such transfers have been used to conceal the origin of oil from Iran, and a United Nations Security Council report warned that North Korea has repeatedly evaded sanctions in this way.
Some oil and commodities traders are "well versed in finding ways to make the most money as they can within the current sanctions regime," said Louis Goddard, senior data investigations adviser for nongovernmental organization Global Witness. "It's really up to governments to implement sanctions in a way that there was no possibility of circumvention."
