Russia supplies crude oil to Europe for weeks in violation of EU sanctions

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported the information.

According to the outlet, the ships mainly involved Greek shipping companies, some of which are part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet. 

According to GPS data, the vessels were likely transporting Russian raw materials to European ports from the Russian Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and the oil port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea.

The study identified approximately 15 tankers that have made such voyages since July 2024. Changes in the vessels' draft upon arrival at their destination ports suggest that they were either fully or partially drained during their journey.

"The vessels' drafts indicated that they left Russian oil ports fully fueled and heavily loaded. Upon arriving at their destination ports, the tankers' drafts decreased by several meters, signaling that the ships were fully or partially drained. These tankers, approximately 250 meters in length, are capable of carrying over 150 million liters of crude oil each," the study authors noted.

Greenpeace also found that the outdated tankers used to transport Russian oil pose a significant environmental threat, increasing the risk of oil spills.

• On September 11, it was reported that the UK government had imposed sanctions on 10 tankers of the Russian shadow fleet. These are the vessels used by Russia to export its oil, bypassing the restrictions imposed by the West for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.