Struggling dark tanker limps towards Singapore – Splash247

The 106,547 dwt aframax tanker
Turba, part of the shadow fleet hauling Russian crude, has started moving after being “dead in the water” for two days.

According to Bloomberg and satellite tracking data available to them, the tanker has started moving at a speed of 5 knots in the direction of Singapore.

Before it started moving again, it was located some 300 km west of Aceh, Indonesia, and was signalling that it was not under command – meaning it could not manoeuvre on its own. It signifies to other vessels to keep out of the way and that it is most probably experiencing mechanical or other related failure.

Bloomberg cited Indonesia’s naval service, noting that the Turba was near but not within the country’s maritime borders for those two days.

It is not uncommon for very old tankers like the Turba – which is 26 years old and flying the flag of Cameroon, a nation at the very bottom of a blacklist published by the Paris MOU – to be a part of the over 600-ship-strong shadow fleet hauling sanctioned cargoes for Iran, Venezuela, and Russia.

It is also not uncommon for those ships to encounter problems due to their age and bad maintenance. Another 26-year-old oil tanker, the aframax Pablo, encountered problems and exploded back in May while the VLCC Young Yang was grounded last year. Both occurred in Southeast Asia which is a major crossroads for international tanker trades.

Regardless of the risks involved in operating ships that are so old, sanctions on Russia have increased the use of such vessels in the past year. These ships are most often bought by mysterious companies which are very difficult to identify and keep track of.

It needs to be said that a new hub is emerging for ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil – an activity the Turba was also documented doing. Israeli maritime artificial intelligence firm Windward identified an area near the Suez Canal in Egyptian waters as a new spot for ship-to-ship meetings.

The average number of meetings in the area during 2022 was one. In 2023 so far, that average increased by 400%, according to tracking from Windward, while at the same time meetings in the previously well-known Ceuta and Senegal hubs decreased.