Oil Tankers News

The European Union's diplomatic arm, the EEAS, is urging member states to back a maritime declaration that would allow EU nations working with flag states to arrange inspections on Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, an EEAS document shows.Beefing up inspection rights is the latest EU proposal aimed at curbing Russian oil and gas revenue being used by Moscow to finance the Ukraine war. EU foreign ministers are due to meet on Monday to discuss new measures against Russia, among other topics.In early October…

Britain targeted Russia's two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and 44 shadow fleet tankers on Wednesday in what it described as a new bid to tighten energy sanctions and choke off Kremlin revenues.Lukoil and Rosneft were designated under Britain's Russia sanctions laws for what London described as their role in supporting the Russian government. They are subject to an asset freeze, director disqualification, transport restrictions, and a ban on British trust services.The two companies were considered strategically significant to the Kremlin…

At least 10 people were killed and 18 injured after an oil tanker caught fire early on Wednesday as it was being repaired in Indonesia's Riau Islands province, according to local police.Fire broke out on the vessel, the MT Federal II, at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday (2100 GMT Tuesday) at a shipyard in the city of Batam, local police chief Zaenal Arifin said. Batam is around 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) away from Singapore by sea.MT Federal II was docked and undergoing repairs when it caught fire…

The latest U.S. sanctions on a major Chinese crude oil terminal have forced refining group Sinopec to divert a supertanker and ask some plants to cut crude processing rates, according to ship tracking data and Chinese consultancies.A supertanker carrying oil to the Chinese port of Rizhao in Shandong province changed its destination over the weekend after the U.S. imposed sanctions on an import terminal at the port on Friday, LSEG data showed.Shortly after the U.S. announcement…

Tanker freight rates for shipping Urals crude from Russia’s western ports to India rose further in late September and early October, tracking a sharp increase in loadings last month, industry sources said.Indian refiners continue to buy Russian oil despite punitive U.S. tariffs on goods imported from India after it defied a demand for it to stop the Russian imports.Crude exports from Russia’s western ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk rose by 500,000 barrels per day in September from August to a record 2.5 million bpd…

Terminal operators in a major oil port in east China's Shandong province are set to introduce measures to ban shadow fleet vessels and curb visits by other old tankers, according to an official notice seen by Reuters and a tanker tracker.The measures, to take effect from November 1, would ban vessels using fake IMO numbers and ships of 31 years or older, which traders said would target what is known as the shadow fleet that transports oil under Western sanctions.Four terminal operators at Huangdao Port last week issued the notice…

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has conducted a steel cutting ceremony for a 115,000-ton product tanker at the HD Hyundai Philippines Shipyard in Subic Bay, Philippines.The vessel is the first ship built by HD Hyundai Philippines and is the first in a series of four vessels ordered from an Asian shipping company in December last year.Last May, HD KSOE signed a lease agreement with Cerberus Capital for a portion of the Philippine shipyard site, marking the…

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday they launched a missile towards the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Yanbu in a rare attack off the Saudi coast.The Liberia-flagged vessel's Singapore-based manager, Eastern Pacific Shipping, owned by Israeli magnate Idan Ofer, said the chemical tanker was undamaged and under the command of its captain."We are aware of security reports alleging that our managed vessel Scarlet Ray was the target of a suspected Houthi attack…

Crowley Stena Marine Solutions, the joint venture between Crowley and Stena Bulk, has received approval from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to operate the CS Anthem tanker under the Tanker Security Program.The CS Anthem, a U.S.-flagged, 49,990-metric-ton, medium-range tanker, is crewed and managed by Crowley under a bareboat charter through the joint venture. The vessel joins Crowley-managed tankers Stena Imperative and Stena Impeccable in the Tanker Security Program…

Rapid falls in the level of the Caspian Sea are affecting ports and oil shipments and threatening to inflict catastrophic damage on sturgeon and seal populations, according to Azerbaijani officials.The Caspian, the world's largest salt lake, holds significant offshore oil reserves and is bordered by five countries that are all major producers of oil or gas or both: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan.Azerbaijan's Deputy Ecology Minister Rauf Hajiyev told Reuters that the sea had been getting shallower for decades…

The Trump administration on Thursday issued more Iran-related sanctions, targeting 13 entities based in Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands, as well as eight vessels, the U.S. Treasury Department said.The measures cover Greek national Antonios Margaritis and his network of companies and vessels that Treasury said was involved in transporting Iranian oil exports in violation of sanctions.Treasury also designated Ares Shipping Limited in Hong Kong…

Indian refiner Nayara Energy, backed by Russia and under European Union sanctions, is relying on a dark fleet to import oil and transport refined fuels, according to shipping reports and LSEG flows.Nayara, which controls about 8% of India's 5.2 million barrel-per-day refining capacity, has been struggling to transport fuel since being placed under EU sanctions in July, a move that prompted shippers to back out, forcing the refiner to cut its crude runs.India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer…

During the first seven months of 2025, Nigeria’s seaborne imports of clean petroleum products (CPP) declined by 39% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 230 thousand barrels per day (kbpd). The decrease follows a 19% reduction during 2024.The reduction in imports is due to the start of operations at the 650 kbpd capacity Dangote refinery early last year. By June 2025, the refinery’s output had reached 550 kbpd, as reported by company officials.“Imports from Northern Europe have reduced the most.

A Chevron-chartered tanker docked at Venezuelan state company PDVSA's Jose terminal on Tuesday, positioning it to be the first to export crude to the United States under a new license Chevron received in July, LSEG tracking data showed.The U.S. Treasury Department late last month authorized Chevron to operate in the sanctioned OPEC nation again, export its oil and do swaps with PDVSA through a restricted license banning any payments to Venezuela's government.Chevron suspended…

A Liberian-flagged oil tanker that had been detained by Iraq's navy has been released and is en route to the United Arab Emirates, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.The vessel, which had been identified by authorities and shipping sources as the Liliana tanker, was carrying 93,000 metric tons of fuel oil when it was intercepted last week, 26 nautical miles from Iraq's coast near Basra's oil terminal.The ship was released after a court order, according to one of the sources and a court order, seen by Reuters, which stated it had committed no breaches.Smuggling is common in Gu

Tanker company DHT Holdings, Inc. has entered into a $308.4 million senior secured credit facility for the post-delivery financing of the company’s four newbuildings.The vessels are currently under construction at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, in South Korea and are scheduled for delivery during the first half of 2026.The facility is co-arranged by ING Bank and Nordea Bank Abp, with ING Bank as Coordinator, Facility Agent, Security Agent and ECA Agent. The facility bears interest at a rate equal to SOFR plus a weighted average margin of 1.32%.

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis."The Houthis collaborate with…

An oil tanker carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil suffered an explosion off Libya on June 27 but no injuries or pollution were reported, a spokesperson for the operator TMS Tankers said on Monday.The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left Libya's Zuetina port and was en route to Gibraltar when there was an explosion in the engine room, the operator said.The vessel is now being towed to Greece where it is expected to arrive by July 2, it added.(Reuters - Reporting by Angeliki KoutantouEditing by Gareth Jones)

India plans to spend $10 billion over the next 25 years to acquire up to 112 crude oil tankers, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials. The move would effectively reduce reliance on foreign-chartered vessels and bolster energy security for India.According to the Bloomberg report, orders for 10 ships could come as early as this month, with the stipulation that ships must be built in India, potentially with foreign collaboration. The government targets increasing the share of India-built tankers in its fleet from 5% to 7% by 2030…

The EU and Britain announced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday without waiting for Washington to join them, a day after President Donald Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin brought about neither a ceasefire in Ukraine nor fresh U.S. sanctions.London and Brussels said their new measures would zero in on Moscow's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and financial firms that have helped it avoid the impact of other sanctions imposed over the war."Sanctions matter, and I am grateful to everyone who makes them more tangible for the perpetrators of the war…

Western sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine and aimed at cutting its oil revenues have led to the rise of a vast "shadow fleet" of tankers helping Moscow keep its crude exports flowing.Here are some key points about these unregulated vessels.WHY IS THIS FLEET IN THE NEWS?Estonia on Tuesday tried to stop an oil tanker, which the UK sanctioned last week, for sailing without a flag against maritime rules, in international waters between Estonia and Finland in the Baltic Sea…

Some tankers Chevron had chartered to move crude from Venezuela to the United States this month are now being marketed for spot contracts elsewhere, sources said, after state company PDVSA canceled loading permits and ordered the firm to return cargoes amid payment uncertainty related to sanctions.The marketing of the vessels indicates that Chevron does not expect to load all the cargoes it typically ships from Venezuela in a month even if it eventually finds a way to resolve the disagreement with PDVSA.Tanker Sea Dragon…

Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has canceled several authorizations it had granted U.S.-based producer Chevron to load and export Venezuelan crude in April, three sources with knowledge of the decision said on Thursday.The cancellations follow U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on Venezuela's oil buyers. The suspensions also comes after Washington canceled key licenses last month to a handful of PDVSA partners and customers, including Chevron, that had allowed them to operate and export Venezuelan oil under exemptions to the U.S.