Spanish authorities have warned suppliers of ship-to-ship services that they risk breaching sanctions in a sign of growing disquiet over Russian oil transfers a few miles off the European coastline.
STS transfers of oil in the Mediterranean hit new highs in December as Chinese-operated VLCCs took on crude from smaller aframax vessels shuttling to Russian ports with oil trading patterns changing in the region.
The operations are a result of the EU’s import ban on Russian crude that started on 5 December and forced Moscow to seek buyers from further afield for its barrels.
