As a result of Russia's war against Ukraine, the world oil market is partially dropping off the radar. In particular, about 1.5 million barrels of Russian oil are secretly bought daily by buyers who do not want to risk their reputation because of relations with Russia.
According to Windward, Russian tankers carrying crude oil and petroleum products are increasingly disappearing from tracking systems. Dark activity among Russian-affiliated crude oil tankers is up by 600%.
"We're seeing a spike in Russian tankers turning off transmissions deliberately to circumvent sanctions. The Russian fleet is starting to hide its whereabouts and its exports," Windward CEO Ami Daniel said.
International regulations require vessels like oil tankers to keep their transponders on almost all the time and transmit information about the location of ships. Ships may turn off their transponders for safety reasons only. But at Windward, they believe that Russian tankers are in the shadows for another reason.
"These vessels want to disappear from the radar. From a compliance perspective, it's a red flag," Ami Daniel said.
CNN suggests that many buyers do not want to risk their reputation because of their relationship with the country that started the war in Europe. According to research firm Rystad Energy, between 1.2 and 1.5 million barrels of Russian oil per day have vanished since the start of the war. Analysts believe refineries in China and India are secretly buying it.
Let us remind that the United States has banned the import of Russian oil and gas, and the United Kingdom has announced that it will stop buying Russian oil by the end of 2022. The EU has imposed sanctions, including a ban on new investments in Russia's energy sector, but has not yet given up on Russian oil and gas.
On March 25, the United States and the European Union announced an initiative to help Europe free itself of its dependence on Russian oil and gas.