LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta has emerged as the top European destination for ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil following the Greek navy’s decision to deter such activities in the Laconian Gulf. Since May 1, citing military exercises, the Greek navy has put out of bounds an area in international waters southeast of the Peloponnese islands, six nautical miles off the coast of Laconia, where Russian-linked tankers were stationed over the past couple of years. As a result, there has been a tanker exodus from Greek waters this summer to new sites across the Mediterranean and at a further distance. Kpler data shows that from May 1 to August 1, there were 122 ship-to-ship transfers recorded in various regions. The Malta area accounted for the majority, with 44% of transfers, followed by Augusta in Sicily with 11 transfers (9%), and Lome in Togo with nine transfers (7%). The ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil off Malta increased by up 220% over the last quarter, just as Malta was fiercely opposing new EU sanctions aimed at limiting the practice, according to a report by maritime artificial intelligence company Windward AI.
– Photo Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).
