🧵what do we know about the Eagle S, in headlines today in connection with cable cutting event? this Cook Islands-flagged Panamax tanker is well known to me. Firstly you must read this article in the FT that explains who the owners were and how the 26-tanker fleet of which the Eagle S is part, came to beft.com/content/b9dee3… why is Eagle S notorious? These 2 stories looked at how inspections in Skaagen in mid 2024 revealed multiple deficiencies that this high-risk tanker had that compromised the environment and crew safety. (it kept sailing anyway and had 500,000 barrles of naphthat aboard at the time of the alleged event, according to Vortexa) lloydslist.com/LL1149947/High…

today's shipping story🧵🧵 is Aframax tanker La Pride deployed in Black Sea Russia oil trades since 3rd change name & flag in Jan. Sold by Greece shipowners Constantinos Martinos family (Thanamaris Ships Management Inc) in Jan '21, it's had 3 layers of obfuscated ownership since companies in Seychelles, Bangladesh, Singapore & UAE have all had interest in the tanker, with ISM now in India. ISM manager Maritas Fleet is a new company with a rapidly expanding fleet of 13 elderly tankers to manage (ISM or commercial) since December. 🤔🕵️‍♀️

today's shipping story 🧵🧵looks at Srini (IMO 9332614), a 2008-built LR1 product tanker, registered owner Macario Shipping in the UAE & on my watchlist for quite a while. Beneficial owner is low-profile Dubai-based Koban Shipping kobanshipping.com since Greek owners Prime Marine Management sold Srini last September, its called 2x at Russian Baltic ports (Oct & Dec), and last discharged its Russian-origin cargo at Saudi's Jeddah Red Sea port at the Aramco refinery

today's shipping story 🧵🧵 looks at Panama-flagged, 20-year-old VLCC An Shun II (IMO 9253117) waiting off Ceuta, a popular ship-to-ship transfer zone for consolidating Russian-origin cargoes. Managed by Singapore-based Amarine Ship Management Pte since March 2021, with registered owner Cayman Islands single-ship company Laurel Shipping Ltd. Amarine manages 2 other vintage VLCCs, Jessica D & Breeze V

today's shipping story 🧵🧵 features 2008-built aframax Great Jacombo (IMO 9319703) at Tuapse anchorage. It has previously featured in writings because it belongs to mysterious Gatik Ship Management in India. Out of nowhere this company has amassed a billion-dollar tanker fleet formed in 2022, Gatik's 33-plus tankers are unsurprisingly all engaged in Russian trading. Gatik favours St Kitts & Nevis & Gabon as flag registries. Gabon's registry is managed by a private company from Amjan, UAE (details below).

today's shipping story 🧵🧵) is 20-year-old, Palau-flagged aframax tanker Ksena (IMO 9232888) which joined what I call a 'staging area', at anchor in Gulf of Finland, awaiting the go-ahead to load oil cargo at Ust Luga or Primorsk. unsurprisingly she changed ownership in mid-Feb and this is where it gets interesting. registered ownership is a Seychelles, single-ship brass plate company. ISM manager is a Moldova-based company. I've already seen Georgia used this way, and written how slack flag states tricked the IMO into issuing fake identifier numbers

🧵🧵Today's shipping story heads to Kalamata, Greece where international waters there are used as a ship-to-ship transfer area to consolidate Russian cargoes from both the Black Sea and Baltic export ports. I'm looking at Sinbad (IMO 9413688), a Liberia-flagged Aframax tanker looks like Sinbad has just begun an STS with Kriti Diamond (IMO ) like most tankers working these trades, Sinbad changed hands in Jan. to Dubai-based Chessworth DMCC chessworthdmcc.com

Today's shipping story comes not from Russia but Thailand🧵🧵 and tells the curious case of Smooth Sea 22, a small, Thai-flagged tanker, identified in UN Security Council panel of experts on North Korea report as part of a network of vessel identity fraud.
…list.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1143651/UK-i… The report, along with C4ADS, outlined how IMO was tricked into issuing a number for a vessel that didn't exist. 2018-built Smooth Sea 22 (9870991) was really 1986-built Smooth Sea 28 (IMO 8514045). read more about why this happened here in the UN report securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BF…

today's shipping story 🧵🧵This is Simoon, a 19-year-old suezmax that changed hands in December & now sailing for Ust Luga to pick up 1st post-sale sanctioned Russian cargo. The ex-Nordic Rio was formerly owned/operated by Sweden's Stena Bulk, who can no longer trade it in Russia ISM manager since mid-Dec is Singapore's Suntech Ship Management Private Limited, which has 39 ships in its fleet including Simoon suntech-maritime.com/ourfleet.html. it's not often you see this transparency in "dark fleet", so I checked out whether or not P&I Club with IG is still valid.

today's shipping story: 🧵🧵 I'm looking at Wind (IMO 9252967) a Comoros-flagged Aframax tanker, previously engaged in subterfuge Venezuelan trading until higher profits to lift Russian oil prompted its owners (hiding behind complex corporate structures) to shift to Baltic. 2003-built Wind loaded its first cargo ~Jan 23 from Primorsk. Cargo is unknown. sailed to international waters off Kalamata, a popular ship-to-ship transfer zone, likely for fuel oil from what I've seen here over the months.