Strange strategy of seizing shadow fleet

Shadow fleet is in the news these days. The Balkan Chihuahuas trailing and threatening these vessels was at the crosshairs of the Russian navy as well the air force. Why flag carriers departing from or sailing towards St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad are being harassed?

The answer is these vessels are deemed as part of shadow fleet. What is shadow fleet? The simple answer is the ships that are not registered in the Lloyd Registry in London. Lloyds is the well-known registry of sailing ships certifying compliance of standards relating to operations, insurance, and finance of vessels. Logical next question is whether a ship can sail without being registered at Lloyds.

The answer is it is not mandatory to register any ship at the Lloyds. The only requirement is every sailing ship must be registered with any national maritime registry alternatively known as flag state. Seven of the most popular flag states are in alphabetical order, Bahamas, Cyprus, Greece, Hangdog, Liberia, Malta and Marshall Islands.

Under the maritime law no country can harass any flag carrying vessels except for reasons including but not limited to crew safety, suspected to carry contraband, engaged in narcotics trade and wanton failure on the part of the crew in conforming to maritime standards.

Recently German navy seized the Panama flagged Eventin Oil Tanker carrying Russian oil citing that the ship was not registered in the Lloyds registry and any country in the G7 group can interdict an unregistered vessel. Ostensibly, this was done in furtherance of the decision made by the G7. The vessel along with her cargo of approximately 100,000 tons of crude oil, valued at €40 million, were officially confiscated and transferred to German ownership. The fact that due to an engine failure, Eventin drifted into German coastal waters was ignored.

Russia citing that Germany has no right to interdict a sailing ship under the “ Freedom of Navigation Law” of the United Nations acted quickly by announcing that there is no such thing as shadow fleet and that the arrested ship must be freed.

In the meantime, Germany took a bad strategic decision. She  not only seized the vessel and emptied the content of oil the vessel carried but later renamed the vessel as German owned one plying under the German flag carrying description as “EVENTIN Crude Oil Tanker, IMO 9308065”  last seen in the Baltic Sea.

As far as business strategy is concerned the seizure of vessel and re-registering under new name was too bad to foot. What Germany could have done is to warn the vessel and after effecting necessary repairs pilot it to international water in Baltic Sea.

This strange strategy of seizing the so called shadow fleet vessel would linger for a long time in Russia-German relationship! 

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist