Moscow’s flagging of the Bella 1 wasn’t about arms or saving Russia’s fleet. It was part of a wider bid to break the Venezuelan oil embargo and gain leverage on the US—likely for use against Ukraine.
Fascinating report and interesting comments. Many thanks. I think a lot of the problems in Europe stem from the governments not being upfront with the fact that we are already at war with Russia.
I have an additional theory for consideration. Whatever their flag, tankers serving Russia, Iran, China, and Venezuela often pump oil back and forth on the high seas. In many ways, they are operating as a single fleet distributing a single product.
The other thing to consider is the extracurricular activities that might be taking place aboard some of these tankers. There is some evidence that the Russians are using at least a few of these tankers for espionage and sabotage, and that Russian intelligence personnel are on board. The Bella 1 could have fled into the Atlantic to give the Russians a chance to offload personnel and equipment before the U.S. caught up with them. Reportedly, several Russian vessels were in the vicinity of the Bella 1/Marinera when it was boarded and seized.
That’s a key question: if the US can make a case for seizing the Bella 1, why can’t Europe do something similar? Why can’t it arrest an EU-sanctioned, falsely flagged shadow tanker carrying Russian oil in nearby international waters?
That’s, in effect, what France (& the UK) recently tried to do with the Grinch. The challenge Europe faces at the moment seems to be that it needs some supporting legislation that strengthens its ability to act against “stateless” (falsely-flagged) tankers. The U.S. put such legislation in place in recent years to help with drug interdictions. So, the good news is, the problem is fixable.
Two legal principles need to be in place:
(1) that if a European gov’t vessel encounters a stateless vessel on the high seas, it can enforce its jurisdiction on it as if it were a European vessel (that’s not prohibited under maritime law, see Part 6 of the report, look for “UN Maritime Crime Manual”);
(2) the stateless tanker needs to be doing something in violation of European law that allows the tanker to be taken into custody and held; that could be, for example, transporting sanctioned Russian oil, or perhaps just being tanker under EU sanctions—which nearly all of the Russian shadow fleet vessels are.
I don’t know how close current EU law is to supporting these two principles, but it seems it’s not quite there yet, so a push is needed to make the necessary changes.
Fascinating report and interesting comments. Many thanks. I think a lot of the problems in Europe stem from the governments not being upfront with the fact that we are already at war with Russia.
I have an additional theory for consideration. Whatever their flag, tankers serving Russia, Iran, China, and Venezuela often pump oil back and forth on the high seas. In many ways, they are operating as a single fleet distributing a single product.
The other thing to consider is the extracurricular activities that might be taking place aboard some of these tankers. There is some evidence that the Russians are using at least a few of these tankers for espionage and sabotage, and that Russian intelligence personnel are on board. The Bella 1 could have fled into the Atlantic to give the Russians a chance to offload personnel and equipment before the U.S. caught up with them. Reportedly, several Russian vessels were in the vicinity of the Bella 1/Marinera when it was boarded and seized.
Seems like finally some more are waking up. Hopefully Europe picks this up seriously
Now a Brookings proposal:
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/stiffening-european-sanctions-against-the-russian-oil-trade/
Thanks, good read. Fully agree with these being attempt.
However, isn’t the bigger question,
to what extent #Europe should actually start stopping Russian shadow fleet tankers in Balltic sea and Mediterranean?
That’s a key question: if the US can make a case for seizing the Bella 1, why can’t Europe do something similar? Why can’t it arrest an EU-sanctioned, falsely flagged shadow tanker carrying Russian oil in nearby international waters?
That’s, in effect, what France (& the UK) recently tried to do with the Grinch. The challenge Europe faces at the moment seems to be that it needs some supporting legislation that strengthens its ability to act against “stateless” (falsely-flagged) tankers. The U.S. put such legislation in place in recent years to help with drug interdictions. So, the good news is, the problem is fixable.
Two legal principles need to be in place:
(1) that if a European gov’t vessel encounters a stateless vessel on the high seas, it can enforce its jurisdiction on it as if it were a European vessel (that’s not prohibited under maritime law, see Part 6 of the report, look for “UN Maritime Crime Manual”);
(2) the stateless tanker needs to be doing something in violation of European law that allows the tanker to be taken into custody and held; that could be, for example, transporting sanctioned Russian oil, or perhaps just being tanker under EU sanctions—which nearly all of the Russian shadow fleet vessels are.
I don’t know how close current EU law is to supporting these two principles, but it seems it’s not quite there yet, so a push is needed to make the necessary changes.
And interestingly , some smaller guys dare it
https://theukrainianreview.info/estonia-detained-a-sontainer-ship-with-a-russian-crew/
https://substack.com/@tilmaneichstdt/note/c-209209848?r=3en3nm&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
P.S. a lot more to do for Europe
Thanks, sounds very meaningful, I reached out to ISPK that works on this in Germany- but let’s see!
Generally people are often overly cautious here