The accumulation of Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan tankers with sanctioned “black gold” near Malaysia is causing collisions and explosions.
The United States closely monitors the “shadow fleet” of Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan tankers carrying sanctioned oil and ship-to-ship transshipping in Southeast Asian waters. This was said by the chief energy representative of the US State Department, Geoffrey Pyatt, Bloomberg reports.
Over the past year, a large group of shadow fleet tankers have formed off the coast of Malaysia’s Johor region, moving from ship to ship to hide the origin of cargo or await new work.
The media said several incidents have occurred, including collisions and explosions, prompting experts to warn of the risk of a major oil spill that could lead to an environmental disaster.
Payette met with authorities and officials in Singapore during his visit and had no direct talks with the Malaysian government.
The cluster of ships off the coast of the country is probably the largest concentration of shadow fleets in the world, transporting oil from Iran, Venezuela and Russia. Iranian oil going to China is often hidden from Malaysian.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told local media in early 2024 that there was “no evidence” that vessels linked to Iran were shipping oil near the country.
As we have already written, on July 15, the Yemeni Houthis attacked two tankers with Russian cargo in the Red Sea.
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Source: korrespondent
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.