Oil tanker chief says UN maritime body ‘sleeping’ on dark fleet threat

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The head of the world’s largest publicly listed oil tanker operator has accused the UN maritime rules body of being “asleep at the wheel” over the growing dark fleet of unregulated vessels, saying it is “only a matter of time” before a significant disaster. takes place

Lars Barstad, managing director of Frontline, also criticized European governments for not enforcing rules aimed at limiting Russian oil trade, saying they were worried about forcing up energy prices.

The number of dark fleet vessels has grown to about a fifth of the world fleet after owners linked to Russia bought hundreds of aging ships to bypass Western countries’ curbs on the country’s oil trade.

The potential for disaster was illustrated in July when the Hafnia Nile, a tanker operated by Singapore-based Hafnia, collided with the Ceres I, a dark navy ship carrying Iranian oil, in waters off Malaysia.

According to a US Treasury sanctions notice against the owners of the Ceres I, at the time of the collision the vessel’s radar system was transmitting an inaccurate location – a common tactic for dark fleet vessels trying to conceal their activities.

Dark fleet vessels, which carry oil from Iran and Venezuela as well as Russia, are usually owned by offshore companies whose ownership is unclear and often lack adequate insurance. They are often registered under the flags of countries that do little to enforce the rules on regular safety inspections.

Barstad said he was “very, very concerned” about the growth of the dark fleet, which he said had incentivized a number of “law-breaking operators” to make an “insane amount of money”.

He added that the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body, was doing too little to ensure the enforcement of its safety and environmental rules.

“All these ships … trade outside the framework of the IMO,” Barstad said. “Now I sleep behind the wheel for a long time in respect of tanks.”

There have been reports of other unconfirmed incidents besides the Ceres I collision, Barstad added. “I’m very surprised we haven’t had more incidents like this,” he said. “I think it’s just a matter of time until we have a big one.”

A ship like the Ceres I — which was carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil — could split in two in a future incident, he said.

“This would be in the environment a bigger problem,” said Barstad. “It can happen every day – and then the biggest problem is that, if it happens, no one will know who really is the ship or the cargo.”

Shipowners that complied with the regulations, such as Frontline, faced disadvantages because so many others were operating at lower costs in unregulated dark fleets, Barstad added. He said it reflects politicians’ unwillingness to enforce sanctions.

“Politicians decided not to take political risks,” Barstad said, adding that he thought many feared higher energy prices if oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela were indeed excluded from international markets.

There have been persistent suggestions that countries such as Denmark – which controls entry to the Baltic – and the English Channel countries should inspect and detain tankers that sail through their coasts without proper insurance .

Barstad refused to list particular states, but said: “It seems extremely disrespectful the way the application was made. A hard position must be taken if one is serious about this.”

The IMO said in response to Barstad’s criticism that its general assembly passed a resolution at the end of 2023 calling on member states to take tougher action on fraudulent ship registration and to step up inspections of ships in port.

It also said that member states had a responsibility to ensure that ships flying their flag followed the required rules and to ensure that ships visiting their ports did so.