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ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Inside the mission to stop Putin's 'ghost ships' wreaking havoc on the seas
On Christmas Day last year, Finland and Estonia got an unwanted shock. A power line that ran along the seabed between the two countries was damaged, slashing electricity flow by two thirds. The next day, Finnish police boarded and seized a ship carrying Russian oil bound for Turkey on suspicion of cutting the line along with four nearby internet cables. The Cook Islands-registered ship, named the Eagle S, was later found to have dragged its anchor along the ocean floor for more than 100 kilometres. European Union leaders labelled it sabotage and levelled blame at Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" or "ghost ships" which Moscow uses to avoid Western sanctions imposed on its cargo exports. The incident has sprung NATO allies into action, with joint forces from 11 member nations signing up to tackle sabotage at sea. The ABC gained rare access to the mission and headed out with Dutch and Belgian crews on the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lithuania — a former Soviet country which is now a key Western ally. Taking off from London before dawn, it took two flights and all day to reach the small port city of Klaipeda where we met the convoy. Undersea cables are a vital part of global infrastructure, carrying electricity and data between countries and continents. There are hundreds of them around the world. Commander Erik Kockx has been charged with overseeing this operation in the Baltic Sea. "There have been some incidents with pipelines and cables. We are here to prevent that from happening again," he told the ABC. "The consequences of cutting an underwater sea cable, first of all, it's very expensive to repair it, secondly if it's an energy or data cable, you cut people off from energy or information." Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden joined NATO, making Russia the only country bordering the Baltic Sea without membership of the security alliance. Since then, multiple cables have been cut or damaged. "Anybody who has any intentions of inflicting damage or harm to any infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region should be aware that it will be observed, it will be monitored, it will be reported, and it will not remain without consequence," Commander Kockx said. Russia's second-largest city and port of St Petersburg is the country's main access point to the Baltic Sea's critical shipping corridor. Further south and wedged between Lithuania and Poland, is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which also hosts strategic port capacity but more crucially is home to a large military build-up of Kremlin forces. The NATO missions are designed to be a deterrent, with a bigger military presence on the surface and eyes underwater inspecting for sabotage. Small underwater drones, remotely operated vehicles and divers are being sent down to build a map of the seabed. Merte Peeters is the commanding officer of the Dutch ship, the Snellius, which is the lead vessel in the mission. "I think it's a two-legged solution, one we show people who basically aren't paying attention sailing around the Baltic, hey someone's looking at you, you are being noticed," he said. "And to the other countries in the vicinity you show that we are present." Most of the accusations of sabotage involve a ship dragging its anchor along the seabed for long distances, in some cases hundreds of kilometres. Two lines were severed within 24 hours of each other in the month before the Christmas Day incident. The Arelion cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania was severed and then the C-Lion 1 cable was damaged between the Finnish capital, Helsinki, and the German port of Rostock. A Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, is suspected of dragging its anchor over both the cables in a separate act of Russian sabotage. In October 2023, another Chinese ship, the Newnew Polar Bear, was identified as the main suspect for rupturing a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. The Chinese government admitted the ship was at fault but rejected the suggestion it was intentional. "If I would drop my anchor for this vessel, I would notice, of course," Commanding Officer Peeters said. The Yi Peng 3 and the Eagle S are both suspected Russian ghost ships which have become a pivotal tool in Moscow continuing oil exports in defiance of Western sanctions. By mid-2024, this clandestine armada was responsible for shipping more than 70 per cent of Russia's oil and its by-products. The European Union last month slapped more sanctions on the covert ships and increased the number of banned vessels to 342, although some experts predict the fleet consists of more than 700. Continuing oil exports through undercover means has been critical to keeping Russia's economy afloat and funding its war efforts in Ukraine. Some estimates predict Moscow has spent more than $15 billion building up the fleet, which are often old and rundown ships, which sail without insurance and flags, allowing them to evade detection and sanctions. They also "go dark" by disabling their tracking transponders, making it difficult for authorities to follow their movements. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the use of shadow ships and rejected claims it was responsible for damaging undersea cables in the Baltic. With investigations ongoing, NATO isn't keen to point fingers or inflame tensions but some countries in the region including Estonia, Finland and Germany, have blamed Russia's shadow fleet. But what started as covert shipments to prop up an ailing economy has morphed into a so-called "hybrid war" or "shadow conflict", which are actions taken to destabilise democracies and cause chaos and fear. On another vessel in the NATO mission, Commanding Officer of Belgian ship, Lobelia, Gill Priem tells the ABC his crew have adapted to battle this new type of conflict. "NATO has to adapt to the evolving geopolitical situation in the world," he said. "Since the increased presence of NATO in this region ... we did not have any accidents occurring in this particular region." The alleged acts of sabotage fall short of all-out military action but force countries to react and beef up security measures. While the mission until now has been focused on protecting the hundreds of kilometres of critical cables crisscrossing the seabed, Russia last month upped the stakes. When a suspected Russian shadow ship, named the Jaguar, and under sanction by British authorities, entered Estonian waters, the navy attempted to stop it. The crew on board refused and then the Estonian warship was then met with a Russian fighter jet, which flew into NATO airspace for close to a minute. "They entered the NATO airspace, this is serious," Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told the ABC. "They escalated in the military way, from now on, we cannot say that it is civilian activities. "They were showing their intent to use this force." It was the first time Russia has shown support for an alleged shadow ship. "This reckless use of hundreds of vessels for the purpose to fuel the war machine of Russia, it put us in an explosive mix, and we have to control all of it," he said. "We see how one authoritarian regime wants to avoid the sanctions and is just exploiting all the weak parts of it." The minister, who's been highly critical of the West's response to Russian aggression, has no doubt of Moscow's intentions in the region. "Russia is preparing itself for long-term confrontation and conflict with the West," he said. "If we are weak, if we are not resilient and if we are not resolute, it means we are increasing the opportunities for Russia to use the capabilities for their intent." Intent and sabotage combined make an explosive mix which is sparking fears of a broader European conflict.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Damaged Baltic Sea power cable Estlink 2 seen back in operation late June
STOCKHOLM, May 30 (Reuters) - Finnish power grid operator Fingrid said on Friday it expects the Estlink 2 subsea power cable between Finland and Estonia, which was damaged in December, to return to commercial use on June 25, slightly earlier than seen before. Fingrid, which last month predicted the cable would be back in operation on July 15, said in a statement repair work was progressing faster than expected. Finnish authorities in December seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion it caused the outage by dragging its anchor across the power cable as well as four internet lines.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Russia boosts oil supplies to Syria, data shows
Russia has increased supplies of its oil from the Arctic to Syria, which needs the feedstock for its refineries, according to shipping data cited by an industry source and LSEG data. Russia has long considered Syria as a key gateway for its trade and military operations in the Middle East and Africa. Its positions in the country's west, where it has a naval base in Tartous and Hmeimim air base near the port city of Latakia, have been dealt a blow following the toppling of Moscow-leaning President Bashar al-Assad in December, but Moscow is in talks with Syria's new administration to keep the bases, the Kremlin said in January. A tanker hit by US sanctions, Mitzel, loaded some 140,000 metric tons of Russian oil in the Arctic port of Murmansk and is heading to Baniyas port that has already received several cargoes of such oil, according to the source and LSEG. Tankers Sakina and Aquatica shipped oil from Russia to Syria in March, followed by the Sabina tanker in April, LSEG shipping data showed and traders said. Overall supplies of Russian oil to Syria reached some 350,000 metric tons, or some 2.6 million barrels so far this year. Russia has to look for alternative buyers of its Arctic oil since the US sanctions in January hit producer Gazprom Neft and the tankers shipping the crude. Russia also supplied diesel to Syria this year, LSEG data showed. Syria's refineries will need alternatives to Iranian oil, which made up a significant supply during Assad's rule but whose deliveries were suspended late last year, leading to a temporary shutdown of the Baniyas refinery in December. Syria's oil ministry announced a resumption of operations at Baniyas refinery in April after new oil shipments had been received but also said it was carrying out technical repairs at the site, without detailing the refinery's current operational capacity. Gazprom Neft, which produces ARCO and Novy port Arctic oil grades, and the Syrian oil ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russia boosts Arctic oil supplies to Syria, LSEG and source data showed
MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - Russia has increased supplies of its oil from the Arctic to Syria, which needs the feedstock for its refineries, according to shipping data cited by an industry source and LSEG data. Russia has long considered Syria as a key gateway for its trade and military operations in the Middle East and Africa. Its positions in the country's west, where it has a naval base in Tartous and Hmeimim air base near the port city of Latakia, have been dealt a blow following the toppling of Moscow-leaning President Bashar al-Assad in December, but Moscow is in talks with Syria's new Islamist-led administration to keep the bases, the Kremlin said in January. A tanker hit by U.S. sanctions, Mitzel, loaded some 140,000 metric tons of Russian oil in the Arctic port of Murmansk and is heading to Baniyas port that has already received several cargoes of such oil, according to the source and LSEG. Tankers Sakina and Aquatica shipped oil from Russia to Syria in March, followed by the Sabina tanker in April, LSEG shipping data showed and traders said. Overall supplies of Russian oil to Syria reached some 350,000 metric tons, or some 2.6 million barrels so far this year. Russia has to look for alternative buyers of its Arctic oil since the U.S. sanctions in January hit producer Gazprom Neft ( opens new tab and the tankers shipping the crude. Russia also supplied diesel to Syria this year, LSEG data showed. Syria's refineries will need alternatives to Iranian oil, which made up a significant supply during Assad's rule but whose deliveries were suspended late last year, leading to a temporary shutdown of the Baniyas refinery in December. Syria's oil ministry announced a resumption of operations at Baniyas refinery in April after new oil shipments had been received but also said it was carrying out technical repairs at the site, without detailing the refinery's current operational capacity. Gazprom Neft, which produces ARCO and Novy port Arctic oil grades, and the Syrian oil ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Huge tanker with Russian ESPO oil waits near China as demand sags
MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - The Big Star, a huge tanker with 2.1 million barrels of Russia's ESPO Blend oil onboard, has been waiting near China in a potential sign of weaker demand for the crude in the region, LSEG data showed and two traders said on Friday. Many state oil companies in China are wary of potential secondary sanctions from the United States if they buy the sanctions-hit Russian oil, traders said. China's seaborne oil imports from Russia dropped to the lowest in 26 months in February, with commodity analysts Kpler assessing arrivals at 970,000 barrels per day. Since then, they have recovered as demand from private "teapot" refiners picked up. But obstacles to Russia's oil trade remain. The Big Star - a so-called very large crude carrier (VLCC) - loaded a total of 2.1 million barrels of ESPO blend from three smaller Aframax tankers, Leftkada, Kai Fu and Centurion I, between May 12 and May 17 near Russia's Far East port of Zarubino, LSEG and Kpler data showed, and headed towards Jieyang in China's southern Guangdong province before stopping. One of the traders suggested the three cargoes were placed too late for sale and failed to attract buyers. Oil in Asian markets normally sells one and a half months prior to loading. The three cargoes loaded from Kozmino port in late April and early in May, prior to the ship-to-ship transfer to the Big Star, LSEG data showed. It is not common for ESPO tankers to be involved in ship-to-ship transfers given the proximity of Russia's Kozmino port to China, and it is also rare for the grade to be held in floating storage, the traders said. After May 23, the vessel briefly lost a ship-tracking signal and then emerged near the Senkaku Islands, not far from Taiwan, on May 25, but has remained anchored since, according to LSEG data.
