Tankers in Russian oil transfers off Greece: LSEG

Since a full European Union embargo on importing Russian oil products took effect 18 months ago, traders have diverted diesel exports from Russian ports to Brazil, Turkey, countries in Africa, Asia and STS loadings. STS loadings make it harder for Western countries to trace trade in Russian oil products.

International waters off Greece’s Laconian Gulf became one of the most popular locations for STS loadings due to their proximity both to Russian ports and the Suez Canal, which offers access to Asian markets.

In April, Greece issued two notices for military exercises in the Laconian Gulf area, urging merchant and other vessels to avoid the area which resulted in increasing tensions between Greece and Turkey and saw Russian tankers moved from the waters off Greece’s Peloponnese.

However, LSEG data shows that in July at least four vessels loaded about 123,000 metric tons of diesel and gas oil in the Russian Black Sea ports of Taman and Tuslse and sailed for transshipment to waters south of the Greek island of Chios. 

Russia is exporting over 3 million metric tons of low-sulphur diesel and gasoil a month and according to traders in the first two weeks of August three more vessels have been loaded in Tuapse with some 100,000 metric tons of gasoil and headed towards the islands of the north Aegean for STS operations.

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