Russian ships transporting crude oil and petroleum products are missing from tracking systems as the battle in Ukraine continues.
In the past, US officials have seen so-called dark activity, in which ships' transponders are switched off for hours at a time, as a fraudulent maritime technique frequently used to circumvent sanctions. Dark activity among Russian-affiliated crude oil vessels has increased by 600 percent since the start of the war, according to Windward, a predictive intelligence firm.
It's not only crude oil that's causing this. Other petroleum products are following a similar pattern. According to Windward, a company that employs artificial intelligence to watch the marine sector, there were 33 instances of dark activity by Russian oil-chemical and oil-product vessels during the week of March 12. That's a 236 percent increase over the previous year's weekly average.
Between 1.2 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil shipments have gone in the five weeks since the war began, according to research company Rystad Energy.
Who Purchases Russian Oil?
There is evidence that refineries in China and India, two of the world's largest oil users and fastest-growing economies, are buying Russian energy covertly, according to CNN. The US Treasury has identified "going dark," or "dark activity," as one of the numerous deceptive methods used to escape penalties in the marine industry.
Windward's data also suggest that ship-to-ship encounters are taking place, albeit the frequency is still at a regular level. These meetings might be long enough to transfer cargo to boats without penalties. Last week, Windward reported that 22 different warships had entered Russian seas for the first time in the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement comes after claims that nine superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs and tycoons, some of whom have been sanctioned, shut off their monitoring signals last week. According to the International Maritime Organization's website, all boats with a gross tonnage of 300 gross metric tons or more that sail on international trips must install tracking equipment, also known as an automated identifying system.
International convention requires certain kinds of boats embarking on international trips to broadcast their AIS position signal at all times, Business Insider reported. As stated by analysts, some Russian oil products are being purchased by refineries in China and India. There has been a substantial increase in the Russian oil supply to New Delhi, and the oil supplied at a low discount has also enticed China.
The US, UK Ban Russian Oil Imports
While the United States and the United Kingdom, two of the most powerful countries in the world, have both prohibited Russian oil imports. The EU, which is far more reliant on Russian energy, has maintained its purchases, except for natural gas imports, which will be cut by two-thirds within the next year to avert an energy catastrophe.
The Russian Urals, the country's crude oil benchmark, is now selling at a tempting $30 per barrel discount to Brent, the European benchmark. Despite the low prices, many Western traders have shied away from purchasing Russian oil. One financier earlier warned the Financial Times that Russian oil has turned poisoned.
However, as millions of barrels of oil continue to go missing, analysts believe the increase in dark activity may be attributed to Western dealers to avert a public relations disaster, as per Fortune.
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