A number of Russian shadow fleet tankers are transporting oil with insurance certificates from a company that doesn’t exist as it’s described in the documents, according to an intelligence assessment from Ukraine.
Seaguard P&I, based in Pinneburg, Germany provided an insurance certificate for the tanker Paz, which is sanctioned by the US, UK and European Union, according to documents obtained by Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service that were seen by Bloomberg.
No such commercial entity exists in Germany, and the address listed on the insurance certificate and the company’s website is the location of a residential apartment building, according to an assessment by Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service.
Bloomberg was unable to definitively corroborate that is the case. A request for comment sent to the email address on Seaguard’s website went unanswered, while calls to numbers listed for the company didn’t connect.
At least five tankers have received insurance certificates from Seaguard, according to the intelligence assessment. Among the vessels is a tanker called Deyna, which French authorities on suspicion that it was circumventing sanctions on Russia.
Ukraine’s allies have sanctioned hundreds of vessels in Russia’s covert fleet of tankers, as they have looked to crack down on Moscow’s ability to generate revenue to sustain its war against Ukraine.
More recently, several European nations have intercepted and boarded vessels near their waters, with the ships seen as posing environmental and security risks in breach of international maritime regulations.
Shadow tankers have increasingly turned to sailing under false flags and with questionable paperwork, as they have been locked out by western service providers including insurers.
Photograph: France will release a tanker after hitting it with a multimillion-euro fine for flouting European sanctions on Russian oil. Photo credit: Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images
Related:
- Belgium Seizes Suspected Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker
- UK Targets Russian Oil Fleet With Biggest Sanctions Hit in Years
- France Fines Russia-Linked Oil Tanker in Shadow Fleet Crackdown
- European Nations Issue Warning to Russia-Linked Shadow Fleet
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