India, one of Russia’s main trading partners, has banned tankers and bulk carriers over 25 years old from entering its ports. In this radical way, the Indians plan to solve the problem of the aging of their own merchant fleet.
Meanwhile, in Russia in December 2022, there were about 50% of tankers over 15 years old. So many old ships are associated with the “ghost fleet”, with which Moscow circumvents Western sanctions. The number of such ships is difficult to reliably determine – according to various estimates, it varies from 100 to 550 ships.
According to the telegram channel Sovereign Economy, around 240 tankers are needed to effectively counter the Russian Federation’s anti-Russian sanctions restrictions.
At the same time, every third tanker in the world is over 20 years old, so Russian ships of this class are not distinguished by deterioration. Nevertheless, the Indian ban could cause some difficulties for Russia’s access to the local energy market.
The day before, Western media noted an increase in the number of ships of Russia’s “ghost fleet”, which helps the country carry out the “illegal” oil trade. Insiders believe that such a fleet could include around 600 ships, or 10% of the number of tankers in the world. The number of such courts continues to grow.
The day before, Russian State Duma Deputy Alexei Chepa said that Moscow does not need to create a “shadow fleet”, because many countries in the world are ready to buy Russian oil.
Photos used: hippopx.com
