Greenpeace Activists Target Russian Shadow Fleet Bunker Vessel In The Baltic Sea

Greenpeace activists reportedly painted slogans on an Estonian-owned tanker on Friday in the middle of the Baltic Sea and said that the vessel supplied bunker fuel to the vessels transporting Russia’s oil, posed a threat to the environment and was expected to fuel conflict.

“Oil fuels War, People want peace”, the campaigners, who reached in small boats, wrote in big white letters on the Zircone tanker’s side, images provided by Greenpeace indicated.

SVT, the Swedish public broadcaster, reported this week that the vessel has provided fuel to over 50 oil tankers sailing to/from Russia’s ports in international waters off Sweden’s island of Gotland over the past two months.

Greenpeace expressed concern that an accident or spill from the Cyprus-registered tanker might result in an ecological disaster in the Baltic Sea ecosystem.

The Zircone belongs to a fleet operated by Fast Bunkering, owned by the Estonian-registered Baltic Sea Bunkering OU, Estonian and Latvian company registers show.

Fast Bunkering mentioned that it delivers services to European firms’ vessels and complies with the applicable sanctions and limitations.

A grey or shadow fleet of ships continues operating in international waters, transporting oil from Iran, Russia, and other sanctioned nations despite the certification providers and engine makers no longer vouching for the seaworthiness.

Greenpeace stated that Zircone sold fuel to the shadow fleet for months. However, the company denies such a claim.

Fast Bunkering’s CEO, Alexey Volkov, has said that he can assure that such statements are untrue and that they do not bunker the grey fleet.

Western sanctions levied following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine don’t ban the provision of maritime fuel, which the tankers use to power their engines as they transport oil to the customers.

Volkov added that they don’t use marine fuel of Russian origin; most of the company’s marine fuels are of European origin.

Reference: Reuters

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