An investigation by Global Witness - an international non-governmental organization working to break the links between the exploitation of natural resources and human rights abuses in the world - and the British newspaper The Independent has found that ships carrying British crew have set out at least twice in Last May, from a British port near the town of Suffolk (southeast) in the coastal city of Southwold, to help transport Russian oil between huge tankers.

After refueling, two tankers carried 165,000 tons of Russian fuel oil, worth more than 160 million pounds ($194 million), and then headed to the Persian Gulf and Singapore.

The newspaper pointed out that the transfers are a link in an international chain that helped Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly shift oil sales to Asia, in light of shrinking European buyers.

The investigation found that burgeoning trade with China and India helped inflate the Kremlin's coffers to an unprecedented level, providing a multi-billion-dollar war fund for the bloody long-running conflict in Ukraine.

These transfers are a link in an international chain that has helped Russian President Putin quickly shift oil sales to Asia as European buyers shrink

Penalty loopholes

He pointed out that the exact number of Russian oil transfers that took place off the British coast is unknown, and that they are not illegal and there is nothing to prevent British companies from participating, but it is an indication of the existence of major loopholes in Western sanctions.

These loopholes appeared in the tacit admission last month of the G7 leaders that the current sanctions were not as effective as hoped, when they announced a proposal to impose a price cap on the amount that can be paid for Russian oil, in the hope that this would stop the flow of liquidity to the Kremlin, which was reinforced by the rise The large oil price since the start of the Ukraine war.

Experts warn that without a comprehensive crackdown on European ships and companies transporting Russian oil, efforts to punish Moscow will continue to be undermined.

mysterious sector

The Independent pointed out that global shipping is one of the most ambiguous and least accountable industries in the world, which creates obstacles to Western efforts to tighten the screws on Putin.

Accordingly, a lot is happening within the shipping sector outside the scope of state control.

The oil transfers monitored by Global Witness included British ships, but took place outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom. Among these ships are two tankers owned by German companies, Greek and Maltese companies operate the two tankers, while a third tanker is operated by a company registered in the Principality of Monaco.

The British newspaper suggested that the three major shipping countries in Europe - Greece, Cyprus and Malta - have doubled the amount of Russian oil they transport since the start of the war in Ukraine.

She stated that the ultimate owners of tankers are hidden behind anonymous shell companies, making it impossible to identify them with any certainty, and the reason behind imposing this veil of secrecy is that they are not very afraid of damaging their reputation from their relationship with Russia.