#dark fleet

We now have two worlds of international commerce, as a result of trade wars and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. As the Western world, principally the EU, UK and related countries and the US look to tighten sanctions on Russian oil exports, some shipowners are finding creative ways to get around the rules set by the West. One important escape hatch is to flag ships with a Flag State that doesn’t…

It’s no secret that flag states are a weak point in maritime standards and regulations enforcement. Shipowners can easily circumvent rules by reflagging to a state that is more interested in the revenue from fees than in enforcement. And there are lots of them. This article paints a darker picture than we have heard of– outright bribery of flag states. The motivation is to skirt sanctions of…