News / Russian 'dark fleet' an ecological disaster threat, claim Baltic shipowners

Photo: © Boris Lukianov | Dreamstime.com

Operating from a country with views of the port of St Petersburg, the Finnish Shipowners’ Association has called attention to the Russian ’dark fleet’ – ships that use illicit practices to avoid sanctions on oil – and warned of an “ecological disaster waiting to happen”.

The full complement of the Russian ‘dark fleet’ is unknown, but is estimated to comprise at least 800 vessels. They carry Russian crude oil through the Danish strait and the narrow, shallow, ice-strewn Baltic waters shared ...