Reuters: Russian shadowy fleet tankers refuse to fly Liberian and Marshall Islands flags
The headquarters of these countries are under US jurisdiction
Tankers transporting Russian oil bypassing the price ceiling have started refusing to register with Liberia and the Marshall Islands.
Source. Reuters writes about this after examining ship registers.
Each ship must be registered in a particular country and fly its flag. Most commercial ships are registered in one of several countries with so-called "convenient" flags on attractive terms, even if they have no other connection to these countries. Liberia and the Marshall Islands are among them.
However, the headquarters of the companies that administer registration under the flags of Liberia and the Marshall Islands are located in Virginia, under the jurisdiction of the United States. A Reuters source in the US government confirmed that flag registration falls under the category of services related to the maritime transportation of oil, meaning that it should be subject to the condition that Russian oil is transported at a price below the ceiling of $60 per barrel.
He also confirmed that the Liberian authorities are cooperating with the United States in monitoring compliance with the sanctions. This was confirmed by a representative of the Marshall Islands court registry.
Since October, the US Treasury Department has added 41 tankers to the sanctions list for violating sanctions against Russia. 24 of them flew the flag of Liberia, and one of the Marshall Islands.
"Almost all" of the remaining tankers, according to Reuters, fly the flag of Gabon. Gabon's Transport Minister Loic Moudouma confirmed to the agency that many tankers that had previously been registered in Liberia have recently re-registered there. He said that if they are engaged in illegal activities, their registration will be cancelled.
"If any ally, any partner in the world realises that there is a Gabonese vessel flying a Gabonese flag that is engaged in illegal activities, all they have to do is send us the full dossier and we will take steps to de-flag that vessel ourselves. Whether it is Russian or of any other state," the minister said.
Background. As reported, Russia has earned almost $653 billion from oil sales since the start of the full-scale invasion.
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