INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
were snapped up by a cohort of faceless traders, intermediaries and investors to keep Russian oil flowing
By some estimates, the purchases, which added to vessels that were already transporting crude for Venezuela and Iran, created a more than
900-strong dark fleet.Now, the average age of the ships being purchased is declining, according to data from VesselsValue Ltd., a researcher
Two industry executives said that clampdowns in Asia were likely catalysts for the shift, following a spate of detentions in recent months
over safety issues.China, one of the top consumers of Russian and Iranian oil, recently ramped up checks on older tankers at the key port of
Qingdao, forcing some to wait more than a month to unload their cargo
Anxiety over aging ships was heightened when a 26-year old vessel exploded off Malaysia in May.Singapore has also detained tankers for
failing safety inspections at a record clip in recent months
Newer vessels, provided they are well maintained, should help to allay fears by some importers over their seaworthiness, though the fleet
remains awash with vintage ships
As recently as October, it was 19 years.Demolition delayThe specifics of dark fleet tankers vary
Often, though, they are older vessels without industry-standard insurance or other western services, and owners that are tough to trace
Ships are near or over 20, an age at which vessels would typically be scrapped
Certain countries take a hard view on older ships
In addition to the Chinese checks, India moved to ban vessels older than 25 years of age from entering its ports earlier this year
first emerged, it made sense to purchase the oldest vessels available
Those ships are the cheapest, and operating without western services enabled them to bypass many of the sanctions in place on oil exports,
including a $60-a-barrel price cap on Russian crude that was imposed by the Group of Seven.The surge in demand for ships has extended the
The pool of buyers for Russian crude has shrunk since the war, meaning cargoes that used to be hauled just a couple of days along the Baltic
Sea now travel for weeks to get to China and India
Further purchases of younger ships boost the chances of rates returning to the higher level as it trims the supply of ships for conventional
trades.There is a strong safety rationale for the move to newer vessels
In May, an aging tanker was found to have more than 20 defects during an inspection in China
