Regular transshipments of Russian petroleum products are now taking place off the coast of Senegal, the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios, and the Sicilian port of Augusta.
Ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of Russian naphtha have been occurring in recent months near the Senegalese port of Dakar, according to market data cited on November 30 by Reuters. This product is being transshipped onto larger tankers for delivery to Brazil.
While Russia traditionally exports 100,000 tons of naphtha per month directly to Brazil, this volume has dropped to 35,000 tons per month since September.
Meanwhile, 160,000 tons of naphtha were loaded between September and November at the Russian port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic, to be transferred near Dakar onto other tankers such as the Pantera, a Liberian-flagged vessel owned and operated by Indian interests, or the Minerva Mediterranea, a Maltese-flagged ship owned and managed by Greek companies.
In Europe, one million barrels of Russian products (fuel, diesel, etc.) are now subject to monthly STS operations near the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios in the Aegean Sea, according to data from Vortexa cited on November 24 by Bloomberg.
Conversely, maneuvers conducted since May by the Greek Navy in the Gulf of Laconia have significantly reduced Russian oil transshipments.
The data also reveals that regular transfers are now taking place off the Sicilian port of Augusta.
Source: Le marin
