Tanker detained in Albania on suspicion of transporting Russian oil

The police claim that the vessel under the Liberian flag, detained in the port of Durres, was carrying 22.5 thousand tons of smuggled oil from Russia,taken on board from another tanker in a Greek port

Albanian police have detained a Liberian-flagged tanker that authorities believe was carrying Russian oil in violation of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States . This is stated in the message of the national police.

“The police operation “Embargo” was carried out on the basis of police intelligence <...>, according to which the tanker under the Liberian flag was supposed to carry a large amount of oil. There was a suspicion that this oil shipment was exported from the countries covered by the oil embargo, namely from Russia. The ship left Azerbaijan and was then allegedly loaded with oil from another ship in the port of Kalamata in Greece.

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The police estimate the volume of cargo at 22.5 thousand tons. The name of the tanker, the owners of the ship and the cargo are not reported. Police note that the oil was transported without proper documentation. Investigators seized the ship's documentation, 22 crew members were detained for investigative actions.

The tanker was detained on February 20 in the port of Durres on the Adriatic coast in western Albania, the second largest port in the country.

On February 11, it became known that the ship Maersk Magellan under the flag of Singapore with a cargo of diesel fuel was not allowed into the Spanish port of Tarragona. The Ministry of Transport of the country reported that the transported cargo “comes from the vessel Nobel under the Cameroonian flag, which sailed under the Russian flag until July 1, 2022,” and got to Magellan from the tanker Elephant by transshipment near the Strait of Gibraltar. It came to the Elephant from the Nobel ship, according to the certificate of origin.

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The ministry explained that the decision to bar the tanker was made in accordance with EU regulations, which prohibit entry into ports for ships registered under the Russian flag after April 16 or changing the flag from the Russian one after February 24 last year. According to the ministry, Magellan can be used in actions aimed at circumventing restrictions imposed by the EU.

Since February 5, the EU has imposed an embargo on sea supplies of Russian diesel fuel. In addition, there is a price ceiling for it - $100 per barrel. Diesel sold at a higher price is forbidden to be delivered by sea to third countries, in which case it is also impossible to provide financial or technical services during transportation.

Russia, in response to this restriction, banned the supply of petroleum products to persons and organizations, in contracts with which there is a mention of a price limit.