The number of violations of the EU-G7 embargo on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products from the Black Sea in April-May 2023 increased significantly

23:05 26.06.2023

Russia

The Monitoring Group of BlackSeaNews
and the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies

The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews reports on the results of its own monitoring of violations of the EU and G7 embargo on the seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products from the ports on the Black and Azov Seas (the embargo) in April-May 2023 and the general trends in these violations (For details, see Tables 1, 2, 3).

Note! The information provided does not apply to crude oil – the results of monitoring violations of the embargo on the imports of crude oil are presented separately.

Summary

In May 2023, the number of violations of the EU and G7 embargo on the seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products from the ports on the Black and Azov Seas rose considerably. The volume of petroleum products shipped amounted to 896,840 tons (an increase of 170,630 tons, or 23.5%, compared to April).

Most violations in May – 17 out of 22 – included shipment to transshipment points in the maritime exclusive economic zones of EU countries – Greece (16) and Malta (1).

However, in May 2023, the number of brazen violations of the embargo – where tankers carrying Russian petroleum products made direct voyages from Russia’s ports to EU and US ports – also grew sharply. Whereas in February 2023 there was 1 such case, in March and April – 2 in each month, in May there were as many as 5 such voyages.

5 direct voyages with petroleum products from Russian ports to the ports of EU countries (Sarroch, Italy; Agioi Theodoroi, Greece; Rijeka, Croatia; Rouen, France) and the USA (Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania) were made in May 2023 by tankers belonging to ship owners from Greece (4) and the USA (1).

In May 2023, 9 out of 17 voyages with Russian petroleum products for transshipment were made by tankers belonging to Greek ship owners. By the way, Ukraine's attempt to list 5 Greek shipping companies as sponsors of war led to a prolonged blocking of the 11th package of EU sanctions by Greece.

In accordance with EU decisions of 23 June 2023, tankers committing such violations will be prohibited from entering the ports of EU countries.

* * *

As we reported earlier, in February-March 2023, the Monitoring Group recorded the following violations of the embargo on Russian petroleum products imports:

February 2023

The number of tankers violating the embargo – 11.
The volume of petroleum products shipped – 403 990 tons.
Transportation directly to a port – 1 tanker,
Motril, Spain (ES MOT MOTRIL), 12,970 tons.
Transportation through transshipment – 10 tankers;
including transshipment off the coast of Greece – 9 tankers, 658,241 tons; LAKONIKOS GULF;
including transshipment off the coast of Malta – 1 tanker, 37,606 tons; MALTA OPL ANCH.

March 2023

The number of tankers violating the embargo – 17.
The volume of petroleum products shipped – 737 856 tons (an increase of 82.6% compared to February 2023).
Transportation directly to a port – 2 tankers:
(1) Wilmington, NC, USA, (US ILM) WILMINGTON NC), 40,099 tons;
(2) Rouen, France, (FR URO) ROUEN; 46,012 tons.
Transportation through transshipment – 15 tankers;;
including transshipment off the coast of Greece – 14 tankers, LAKONIKOS GULF, PIRAEUS ANCH; 613,349 tons;
including transshipment off the coast of Malta – 1 tanker, OPL VALLETTA; 38,396 tons

In April 2023, these figures remained at the level of the previous month; however, in May 2023, they grew significantly.

April 2023

The number of tankers violating the embargo – 17.
The volume of petroleum products shipped – 726,210 tons (a decrease of 1.5% compared to March 2023).
Transportation directly to a port – 2 tankers:
(1) Baltimore, Maryland, the USA, (US BAL) BALTIMORE, 47,171 tons;
(2) Algeciras, Spain, (ES ALG) ALGECIRAS; 47,122 tons.
Transportation through transshipment – 15 tankers;
including transshipment off the coast of Greece – 15 tankers, LAKONIKOS GULF, GR KALI LIMENES ANCH (Crete), MESSENIAN GULF; 631,917 tons.

May 2023

The number of tankers violating the embargo – 22.
The volume of petroleum products shipped – 896,840 tons (an increase of 170,630 tons, or 23.5%, compared to April).
Transportation directly to a port – 5 tankers:
(1) Sarroch, Sardinia, Italy, (IT PFX) SARROCH, 46,719 tons;
(2) Agioi Theodori, Greece, (GR AGT) AGIOI THEODOROI, 8,941 tons;
(3) Fairless Hills, PA, USA, (US FAH) FAIRLESS HILLS, 49,990 tons;
(4) Rijeka, Croatia, (HR RJK) RIJEKA, 39,208 tons;
(5) Rouen, France (FR URO) ROUEN; 37,320 tons.
Transportation through transshipment – 17 tankers;
including transshipment off the coast of Greece – 16 tankers, LAKONIKOS GULF; 663,915 tons;
including transshipment off the coast of Malta – 1 tanker, MT MAR MARSAXLOKK; 50,747 tons.

In May 2023, the involvement of tankers belonging to Greek ship owners in embargo violations increased sharply. They accounted for 54.5% of embargo-violating tankers, or 12 tankers out of 22.

This can be explained by the position of the Greek government, which blocked Ukraine's efforts to list 5 Greek shipping companies as sponsors of war by holding up the 11th package of EU sanctions for a long time.

Table 1. The breakdown of tankers that transported Russian petroleum products from the ports on the Black and Azov Seas in April-May 2023 in violation of the EU and G7 embargo, by country of ship owner registration

Ship owner’s country of registration	February 2023	March 2023	April 2023	May 2023
Greece [GR]	7	9	2	12
Italy [IT]	-	1	-	-
Norway [NO]	-	-	1	-
Denmark [DK]	-	-	1	-
USA [US]	-	-	-	1
Turkey [TR]	1	2	4	2
Marshall Islands [MH]	-	1	-	1
DUBAI United Arab Emirates [AE] - Russia [RU]	1	3	3	1
Liberia [LR]	1	-	-
India [IN]	-	1	1	2
China [CN]	1	-	-	-
Singapore [SG]	-	-	5	1
Vietnam [VN]	-	-	-	1
Seychelles [SC]	-	-	-	1
In total	11	17	17	22
Russia’s petroleum products to EU countries in violation of the embargo, tons	403 990	737 856	726 210	896 840

The cartographic records of the direct voyages of tankers carrying Russian petroleum products to the ports of EU countries in violation of the embargo in April-May 2023

April 2023

1. The voyage of the tanker CHAMPION CONTEST (IMO 9272199, DWT 47,171 tons, flag Norway, ship owner TRUST TWO AS Care of Champion Tankers AS, Tveiteraasvegen 12, 5232 Paradis, Norway) from Novorossiysk to Baltimore, Maryland, the USA.