Both vessels suffered significant damage. The exact cause of the accidents is unclear, with the main version being crew error in storm conditions. There were also reports of strong waves in the Kerch Strait, with the storm reaching a force of seven at the time. Videos appeared on social media showing one of the tankers, Volgoneft 212, virtually split in half, its bow standing upright in the water.

On December 17, the Volgoneft-109 tanker sent a distress signal due to a fuel oil leak in a ballast tank - a disaster that, according to Russian authorities, was prevented. However, the vessel did leak cargo.

On the same day, the Mercury tanker sent a distress signal near the Kuril Islands. The Russians say the incident occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 50 kilometers northeast of Simushir Island. The tanker's loss of power was caused by the ship's stalling. Russian rescuers claim that there is no threat to the lives of the ship's crew, and the ship was towed away.

Ukrainian Energy learned what the Russian "shadow fleet" threatens the world and global shipping.

The end of ecology

As of today, a state of emergency has been declared in the Black Sea off the coast of Anapa due to a fuel oil leak that formed a layer of up to 30 cm and contaminated more than 40 km of coastline in the Krasnodar Territory.

According to estimates by the Russian Ministry of Environment, the damage to the Black Sea ecosystem is over $14 billion, as at least 4,300 tons of fuel oil have entered the water.

Spilled fuel oil from the sunken tankers Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 has already reached the beaches of Anapa in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. But the storm is carrying it further, towards the city of Sochi.

In addition, according to locals, the fuel oil is covering the sand of the beaches with a second layer, which is likely to jeopardize the upcoming resort season, as it will require significant efforts to clean it up.

According to environmentalists, the consequences for the marine ecosystem could be catastrophic and last for decades.

The outdated tankers of the Russian so-called "shadow fleet" pose a threat to the environment and shipping safety, according to a study by the international environmental fund Greenpeace.

After the introduction of EU sanctions on Russian oil and a price ceiling of $ 60 per barrel, Russia began to actively use ships belonging to companies from other countries to transport oil. The report says that these are mostly old tankers: if in 2021 the average age of tankers transporting oil from Russian ports was 8.9 years, then by 2024 this figure increased to 16.6 years.

Insurance problems

According to experts from the Greenpeace organization, most tankers sailing from Russian ports do not have adequate insurance coverage, which means that in the event of an oil spill, the coastal countries will have to bear the costs of liquidating the damage.

Tankers of the Russian shadow fleet are insured by sanctioned Russian companies, as well as firms from Cameroon and Kyrgyzstan. This is stated in the publication of Bloomberg, which, together with the non-profit organization for investigative journalism Danwatch, studied the data collected by the Estonian authorities, as well as analyzed databases and spoke with sources in the insurance industry.

As noted, in July and August 2024, Estonian authorities checked the insurance documents of approximately 150 oil tankers carrying Russian oil and found that 20-25% of them were insured by Russian companies. These included the sanctioned Ingosstrakh, AlfaStrakhovanie and Sogaz, which are supported by the Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNPC), which is under US, UK and EU sanctions. Estonian authorities also found that companies from Cameroon and Kyrgyzstan insured at least two tankers each.

Prior to Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, most Russian oil tankers were insured by Western companies that are members of the International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs. But now G7 insurers can only do so if there are written guarantees that Russian oil was purchased at a price below the G7 ceiling of $60 per barrel.

In addition, the world's leading insurance companies are not ready to insure the outdated vessels used by Russia.

Old tankers

Russia has increased the capacity of its "shadow fleet" of oil tankers by almost 70% compared to last year, despite sanctions on insurers and shipping companies that allow Moscow to circumvent Western restrictions, the Financial Times notes.

It is worth understanding that the service life of a tanker, especially a technological one, does not exceed two decades. Then it must be disposed of, and disposal is not a cheap procedure, and therefore the cost of transportation includes future disposal costs as a separate item.

Owners of worn-out tankers, having received an offer to buy it from Russia, are certainly happy with such an offer, since they receive a double profit: firstly, they will retain the same funds included in the cost of the disposal deduction, and secondly, instead of spending on it, they will also receive a profit from the sale of the tanker and save themselves a headache.

At the same time, it is difficult to say how long the purchased worn-out tanker will last, but its purchase does not look like a commercially profitable deal.

It is already very difficult to call it a business. In fact, today Russian oil and gas companies do not so much earn money as optimize their losses, choosing a strategy that will bring them lower costs. There is no need to talk about profit in such conditions at all.

Western shipping companies typically try to get rid of tankers after 15 years of operation, but the average age of the Russian shadow fleet is already higher, according to Benjamin Hilgenstock, an oil sanctions expert at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSEE) and an economist at the Washington Institute of International Finance.

“Shadow tankers carrying Russian oil pass through European waters, including the Baltic and Mediterranean, several times a day. There have already been several breakdowns, and a major disaster is only a matter of time,” he says.

An investigation by Politico and the nonprofit journalism group SourceMaterial found at least nine cases of tankers carrying Russian oil leaving behind oil slicks that stretched for dozens of kilometers.

More sanctions

Given the situation, the world community regularly imposes sanctions and deducts Russian vessels that do not have proper insurance.

In November, the UK imposed sanctions on 18 oil tankers and four tankers for transporting liquefied natural gas. The British authorities called the introduction of restrictive measures against these vessels "the largest action" against the Russian "shadow fleet".

Over the past year, they transported cargo worth $ 4.9 billion. The total number of tankers subject to sanctions now stands at 43 vessels. They are prohibited from entering British ports and receiving maritime services.

These days, the European Union adopted the 15th package of sanctions against Russia. The new restrictions concern, in particular, the Russian "shadow fleet".

In total, the EU Council agreed to impose restrictions against 84 individuals and legal entities.

As Bloomberg notes: Biden’s team is ready to take the risk of confrontation with Russia as he approaches his resignation. It is considering sanctions against the supply of certain types of Russian oil, as well as the “shadow fleet”. New restrictions may be introduced in the near future.

Systemic phenomenon

There is one feature of the disaster in the Kerch Strait that is not noticeable at first glance.

The disaster occurred with tankers that actually could not unload, and therefore were at anchor - at least a month. One of the tankers had been at it for at least a month. This means that the problem is systemic - there is simply nowhere to unload. Tankers in such situations can act as storage facilities, but for obvious reasons this solution is temporary, since their capacity is also limited, and therefore it was necessary to remove old and frankly unsuitable for sea “over-extraction” of fuel oil vessels.

The problem is that fuel oil is one of the by-products of oil refining. Moreover, the lower the processing technology (i.e. its “depth”), the greater the fuel oil yield. This is one of the chronic problems of both Soviet and Russian processing. It was solved by sending excess volumes for export and using them in TPP furnaces. The price was not of particular importance, because it is more important to free up storage facilities for the next batches of fuel oil. If they overflow, processing will stop, not to pour fuel oil on the ground.

The solution is obvious - to increase the processing technology, reducing the yield of fuel oil, increasing the yield of light fractions. Well, and to find applications for fuel oil masses within the country - after all, fuel oil can be not only fuel, but also used in construction, asphalt works, etc.

However, the Russian authorities are not up to this now - because all resources are now going to the so-called “SVO” and the production of “Oreshniki”. This is not about the development of the country

Therefore, we can forget about technology. About the construction of infrastructure and exports in the previous volumes - too.

So now the Russian Federation has overflowing storage facilities, and they have nowhere to put the product. That is why old rusty tankers are being pulled out for raids, even in a big storm. And it seems that this phenomenon will only get worse, bringing with it environmental disasters for the whole world.

You can try to isolate yourself from the Russians and their outdated tankers with the help of sanctions, but partners should remember that planet Earth is our common home, where we live. And if the Kremlin does not understand this, then perhaps it is worth reminding us of this fact more harshly?

Olena Marchenko, specially for "Ukrainian Energy"