The United Nations Navy said it was ‘sleeping’ on the threat of dark ships

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The boss of the world’s largest publicly listed oil tanker operator has accused the United Nations maritime regulator of being “asleep behind the wheel” over the growing number of unregulated dark vessels. will be conducted.

Frontline CEO Lars Barstad also criticized European governments for failing to enforce laws aimed at curbing Russian oil trade, saying they risked forcing up energy prices.

The number of dark fleets has grown to the fifth largest in the world after Russian-linked owners bought hundreds of aging vessels to bypass Western restrictions on oil trade.

The potential for disaster was highlighted in July when the Hafnia Nile, an oil tanker operated by Singapore’s Hafnia, collided with the Iranian oil tanker Ceres 1 off Malaysia.

As a Next US Treasury sanctions announcement At the time of the collision with the owners of the Ceres I, the ship’s radar system was transmitting an inaccurate position – a common tactic for dark ships trying to hide their movements.

Dark vessels carrying oil from Iran and Venezuela, as well as Russia, are generally owned by offshore companies whose ownership is unknown and often inadequately insured. They are often registered in the flags of countries that do not do much to enforce the rules about regular security checks.

Barstad said he was “very, very concerned” about the growth of dark circles, which encouraged many “illegal operators” to make “crazy money”.

He added. International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations was doing very little to ensure the implementation of its safety and environmental regulations.

“All these ships . . . They are trading outside the IMO framework,” Barstad said. As for the tankers, they have been asleep behind the wheel for some time now.

Besides the Ceres 1 collision, there have been reports of other unconfirmed incidents, Barstad added. “I’m surprised we haven’t had more incidents like this,” he said. I think it’s only a matter of time until we get something bigger.

A ship like Ceres 1 – carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil – could break in two in the future, he said.

“This is going to be a big problem in the area,” Barstad said. “It can happen any day – and the biggest problem is that if it happens, no one will know who owns the ship or the cargo.”

Shipowners who have complied with the rules, such as Frontolin, are facing problems as many others are operating at low cost with unregulated dark vessels, Barstad added. He said that this reflects the unwillingness of politicians to implement the sanctions.

“Politicians have decided not to take political risks,” Barstad said, adding that he thought many people were worried about higher energy prices if oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela were excluded from global markets.

There have been persistent suggestions that countries such as Denmark – which control the entrance to the Baltic – and countries across the English Channel should inspect and arrest tankers that sail beyond their shores without proper insurance.

Barstad declined to identify specific states, but said “the way it’s been implemented seems very half-hearted.” If a person is serious about this matter, a serious position should be taken.

In response to Barstad’s criticism, the IMO said that by the end of 2023, the General Assembly had passed a resolution calling on member states to crack down on fraudulent ship registrations and conduct inspections of ships in port.

Member States are responsible for ensuring that ships flying their flags follow the necessary regulations and ensure that ships visiting their ports.