ATHENS – Trying to block ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil in international waters, the Greek Navy has again extended a NAVTEX navigational advisory warning vessels away from an area off the coast of the southeastern Peloponnese.

That was done to push away tankers that had used the area for ship-to-ship transfers, a practice that blossomed after the implementation of a G7 price cap on Russian oil by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the European Union being a “non-enumerated member.”

The Bay of Laconia was favored by Russian shippers for the so-called STS transfers because it’s sheltered, in international waters, said the Bloomberg financial news service about Greece’s Navy keeping ships out of the area.

Transferring oil from one vessel to another is often done to mask the origin of the cargoes, and sometimes to split up the shipment to meet draft restrictions at certain ports and additional G7 sanctions were imposed in February 2023 on Russian oil.

Those were implemented in response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and put a cap on the price of Russian oil and petroleum products to reduce the ability to finance President Vladimir Putin’s war.

The Russian ships also found the bay convenient for so-called Shadow Fleet tankers coming from Black Sea loading ports and when  Greece began holding declared naval drills the vessels had to find other places for the transfers.

Greece’s drills have been extended through mid-September, the longest increase in duration announced yet, the news site said, effectively ending the practice of ships being in international waters where they couldn’t be checked.

“You cannot perform an inspection on a ship with a foreign flag in international waters. Unless a vessel carries a Greek flag your hands are tied,” a source not named told Reuters in May, adding the NAVTEX is a way to stop them.

MAKING WAVES

In June, Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) President Melina Travlos, who in 2022 defended Greek ships for carrying Russian oil, rejected criticism of Greek shipowners who further enriched themselves and reports of violating sanctions.

She used the annual Posidonia shipping fair, the world’s largest gathering of those in the sector, including Greece’s oligarchs whose vessels dominate the world’s waves, to denounce faultfinders.

“Shipping by its very nature is neutral and global and brings the world together. Even in warlike situations, shipping is there to help,” she said about European Union sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

She also referred to the targeting of ships because of political reasons, such as Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking ships in the Red Sea in protest of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip in a hunt for Hamas terrorists.

“It is unacceptable that shipping, which is a global activity, should be the target of any geopolitical crisis or political criticism. And in fact, shipping is usually unable to defend itself,” she also added.

She said that, “There is a very large dose of hypocrisy and injustice,” and emphasized that “when unilateral regional measures are taken, they always unfortunately also unilaterally affect the involved sectors and these regions. This has also happened with European shipping in the case of sanctions against Russia.”

UGS Vice-President Michael Chandris also spoke on the issue, noting that Greek-owned shipping always respects regulations and strictly observes sanctions when and where they are being imposed.

In November 2023, Greek shippers Minerva Marine, Thenamaris, and TMS Tankers stopped transporting Russian oil, which had been exempted from the sanctions because the EU and Greece rely on it.

All three firms were active shippers of Russian oil and fuels up until September-October when they started scaling down their involvement, according to traders and data from shipping agents seen by Reuters.