An estimated Russian fleet of 600 cargo ships are
considered as shadow fleet by the West simply because these are not registered
with the Lloyds Registry in London. It was the decision by EU/G7 not to allow
Russian ships to be so registered. The crux of the matter is, it is not the
West that is calling the shots but Russia.
Prohibiting registering of ships at Lloyds is not a
great deal. There is no requirement in the International Maritime Law that all
sailing ships must be so registered to transverse the oceans. The West did this
in order to give strength to their sanctions regimes against the carriage of Russian
oil. Western European
nations especially in the Baltic Sea have made several futile attempts to interdict
ships purportedly carrying Russian oil on the footing that the tanker is
not registered at Lloyd therefore could be deemed as one of the shadow fleet.
Russia on the other hand would not mind getting her
fleet registered at Lloyds but it was EU/G7 combo that prevailed with the Lloyds
not to proceed with such registration. Consequent to this it was Lloyd that lost revenue. Furthermore, marine
insurance companies located in London also had to forego handsome revenue in
terms insurance premium as regards to the vessel and the contents that she
carries. A point of fact is Russia pumps out 3.5 Million bpd and the bulk is
transported from her ports via the Baltic Sea.
Russia has taken the following manoeuvres as part of
her offset business strategy:
1. When countries such as Sweden declared part of the
sea bed as Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) beyond the 12 miles territorial sea
boundary, Russia countered
that any ship can navigate in the EEZ without being harassed by the concerned
nation as provided by the International Maritime Law.
2. Although under United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a coastal nation is entitled to claim 200 nautical
miles from her coastline as EEZ, this need be done without impinging the rights of other neighbouring
nations as well the right of any vessel from any other country. Russia
is adamant in that, she has the right to traverse thru such EEZ.
3. As Barack Obama once quipped “law has unintended consequences” Russia
was emboldened to use her naval power in combination with air power to pre-warn
and failing which attack and destroy the sea-bine assets of countries that
harass Russian oil tankers.
4. Russian will and the muscled business strategy
of using her military power was evident in a recent incident when Estonia sent
her naval vessels to threaten Gabon flagged Argent/Jaguar which was sailing
thru her EEZ. A solo SU-35
appeared over the horizon. Estonian navy vessels scrambled to retreat in
a fashion that could potentially knock one on another. The Baltic Chihuahuas
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are expected to taste the bitter medicine in the
offing do they persist provoking the Russian Bear!
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Business Strategist
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Business Strategist