Spain is cracking down on ship-to-ship (STS) transfers as its coastline becomes a hotspot for Russian cargoes heading to Asia, often on old, substandard tonnage.
From next month tankers looking to carry out STS operations must seek authorisation from the closest Spanish port captaincy.
Member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are debating this week a proposal to clamp down on STS transfers at the United Nations body’s legal committee.
In the wake of sanctions against Russia, the volume of STS transfers has soared with Russia taking cargoes from its coast on smaller tankers and then moving them onto larger ships before heading to the likes of India and China, a trend that has alarmed many governments at the potential environmental risks posed.
STS transfer hotspots over the last year have emerged in Southeast Asia as well as off Kalamata in Greece, and off Cueta, a Spanish outpost on the North African coastline
Israeli data firm Windward has detailed how Ceuta – an autonomous Spanish city on the north coast of Africa – has grown as a hub for Russian oil in the last year. Bordered by Morocco, Ceuta lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The area is also known as a hub for drug trafficking.
Braemar analysis suggests that demand for tanker space generated by STS transfers onto and off larger ships has grown from an average of 6.7m tonnes per day between 2016 and 2019 to 10.8m tonnes over the past three quarters. It now makes up 5% of all tanker demand. Some of this can be attributed to Russian flows to Asia, but the strong growth of US exports to Europe on VLCCs over the past year has also played its part.
Spain coastline becomes a hotspot for Russian cargoes heading to Asia because of Gibraltar administration allowance to grey business and not prosecute STS operations, just opposite to Ceuta, a Spanish city on the North African coastline area suffering from Gibraltar drug trafficking.