Ghost Oil Tanker Giving Deliberately False Location Readings is What Led to Collision of Two Tankers Off Malaysian Coast in North China Sea: Cheating Leads to Damages to Both Tankers

 

     When Russia, Iran, and their main collaborators, China and India began shipping oil in defiance of Western sanctions it was noted that the use of older and more dangerous tankers could lead to accidents and environmental damage. The desire to evade detection and position now appears to be what led to a crash of two oil tankers off the coast of Malaysia in the North China Sea. What was feared finally happened on July 19. It is sanction evasion maneuvers that led to the crash, namely by the “ghost” tanker, the Ceres I, projecting false locations and travel paths. The ghost tanker made an oil delivery from Iran to China and was presumably returning to the Middle East when the crash occurred.

     The Ceres I is widely known to be a part of the ghost fleet that brings oil from Iran, Russia, and Venezuela to China and India at low prices in inadequately insured substandard tankers which is against international rules and against sanctions on Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. The crash resulted in injuries but no deaths. If the Ceres I had not unloaded its oil before the crash it may have been a major disaster. According to the Washington Post, this scenario was predicted.

 

“Last year, over objections from Iran and Russia, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations shipping agency, issued a resolution expressing grave concern over the prevalence of “dark” tankers, adding that there were as many as 600 tankers servicing this shadow trade — vessels that had unclear ownership, were not compliant with safety standards and lacked adequate insurance.”

 

“Tankers are required to broadcast their location on their Automatic Identification System (AIS) so they can be detected by other vessels. But “dark” tankers were masking or falsifying their locations on AIS — a process called “spoofing” — to travel illicitly, the IMO said. The safety risks, the agency warned, were “real and high.”

 

     Typically, a tanker has an operating life of 15-20 years for safety reasons. The Ceres I was launched in 2001 and has been operating for 23 years. It has operated under four different flags in the past five years. Countries where registration fees are low are preferred. Ship-to-ship transfer of oil is also being practiced with sanctioned oil being blended with non-sanctioned oil. Clearly that increases environmental risks, although only 30% of the transfers involve illicit oil. China has been cheating on biofuels by blending in palm oil and mislabeling them as waste biofuels which get a better price. Thus, China is no stranger to blending deceptions. The Ceres I is known to have engaged in several recent ship-to-ship transfers in the South China Sea. The South China Sea involves disputed territory claimed in part by seven countries. Thus, it is not “policed” very well. According to the Washington Post:

“In recent years, a stretch of the South China Sea near Malaysia has become a hot spot for the ship-to-ship transfer of oil, which is when tankers mix sanctioned oil with oil from elsewhere to deliver as “blends,” said Muyu Xu, a China oil analyst at the maritime analysis group Kpler. This maneuver increases the risks of collision and pollution, especially when done hastily or when ships are not broadcasting their accurate locations.”

“Since August 2023, Kpler has detected more than 1,005 unique vessels participating in ship-to-ship transfers here, at least 30 percent of which Kpler estimates were doing so illicitly.”

The Ceres I was not transmitting any location data when it crashed the other tanker, the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile, on its way to Japan. The Hafnia Nile was traveling at maximum speed when it crashed into the Ceres I which was apparently anchored. Obviously, it did not think the tanker was there. The Ceres I reported path is consistent with spoofing its location.

“In 2023, oil from Iran, Venezuela and Russia made up 26 percent of China’s oil imports, up from 20 percent in 2021, according to data from Kpler. In the first seven months of 2024, this figure was up to 28 percent.”

“As long as Iran continues being sanctioned and as long as China continues to buy, this trade will continue,” said Emma Li, a China oil analyst at Vortexa, an energy analytics firm.”

     After the crash, the fire-damaged Hafnia Nile was towed to port. The Ceres I went missing for a few days but was intercepted by the Malaysian Coast Guard after it was found being towed by two tugboats further into the South China Sea.

     The scenario is that China and India are profiting from sanctions imposed by the West. Russia and Iran are hampered by having to sell oil at a lower price, but they are also avoiding other costs by operating “under the radar.” It is simple fraud. The sanctions still have the intended effect of less profit for the sanctioned but safety and environmental risks grow due to using tankers and practices that defy international standards. The situation is not sustainable in the long term.

 

References:

‘Dark’ tanker crash exposes dangers of China’s thirst for cheap oil. Rebecca Tan, Pei-Lin Wu, Júlia Ledur. Washington Post. September 2, 2024. ‘Dark’ tanker crash exposes dangers of China’s thirst for cheap oil (msn.com)