"Two oil tankers under US sanctions are sailing east through the Channel towards Russia, prompting speculation over whether the US and UK would be willing to seize further vessels linked to Moscow. The Aria and the Tia, which has changed its name and country of registration several times, were both travelling south of Britain a day after the Marinera oil tanker was captured in the Atlantic by the US with UK help."
"John Healey, the defence secretary, told MPs on Wednesday evening that the seizure of the Marinera was justified not only because it was falsely flagged but also because it was part of Russia's shadow fleet that shipped oil illicitly to bankroll its illegal invasion of Ukraine. That created an expectation that the UK, perhaps with the help of the US, would be willing to target other Russian or Russia-linked tankers near the country that have already been hit with sanctions by the US Treasury."
"The Tia, using the name Tiavan, is on a voyage from Turkey to a port on Russia's Gulf of Finland, due to arrive on 13 January, according to Lloyd's List. Under the name Tia, it was placed under sanctions by the US for carrying crude oil from Venezuela in 2024, after which its name was changed to Arcusat and finally Tiavan."
Two oil tankers, Aria and Tia, are transiting near Britain en route to Russian ports while both remain subject to US sanctions. The movements followed the US-UK seizure of the tanker Marinera, which was described as falsely flagged and part of Russia's shadow fleet used to illicitly sell oil to fund the invasion of Ukraine. Defence officials said disrupting the shadow fleet is a priority, but the Ministry of Defence declined to comment on operational plans or live vessel tracking. The Tia has changed names and registration after sanctions; the Aria is Barbados-flagged and linked to Russia's largest shipping company.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]