Since the war in Ukraine began, crude oil tanker traffic along the German Baltic coast has surged, prompting Greenpeace to raise environmental concerns due to the declining quality and safety of the vessels.
As explained by Greenpeace in their “Risk of Oil Disaster off German Coast” report, since the beginning of the war, there has been a notable change in shipping traffic off the German Baltic coast. While pipeline deliveries of Russian crude oil to the EU have decreased, exports by sea have increased significantly.
Currently, there are 70 percent more crude oil tankers passing along the German Baltic coast than in January 2021, with as many as three tankers frequently sailing off the coast simultaneously, Greenpeace notes.
However, it’s not just the volume of tanker traffic that has changed – the quality of the ships has also deteriorated. Today, the crude oil tankers navigating through protected areas like the Kadet Trench and the Fehmarn Belt are, on average, much older than before the war began.
What is the dark/shadow fleet?
The “dark fleet” or “shadow fleet” comprises primarily older tankers, many of which have not undergone recent inspections and lack proper maintenance. Ownership of these vessels is often unclear, and they frequently operate without adequate insurance coverage, seeking to evade sanctions and mitigate high insurance costs. This increases the risk of oil spill or collision. This could also result in a participating shipowner evading its liability under the relevant liability and compensation treaties.
They are often poorly insured against specific risks such as oil spills, have significant safety deficiencies, and sail under flags of countries notorious for lax oversight.
This is an unintended consequence of the G7 sanctions, which ban Western shipping companies and insurers from handling Russian exports priced above the USD 60 per barrel cap.
According to Greenpeace, data clearly indicate that the likelihood of an oil disaster off the German coast is significantly higher than before the war. The lack of adequate insurance coverage greatly increases the risk that neighboring Baltic states will be left to bear the financial burden of such an incident.
