Rise of the Dark Fleet Moving Sanctioned Oil Is Rewiring Energy Markets
Networks of traders and shipowners to keep Iranian and Russian crude flowing have emerged in recent years.
The shadow fleet tanker Turbo Voyager moving through the Great Belt of Denmark on Aug. 15.
Photographer: Carsten Snejbjerg/BloombergWelcome to our guide to the energy and commodities markets powering the global economy. Today, Senior Executive Editor Will Kennedy discusses how the dark fleet carrying sanctioned Iranian and Russian oil is growing in size and sophistication. The Big Take looks at Japan’s domination of the $250 billion LNG market. To get this newsletter sent straight to your inbox, sign up here.
The rise of the so-called dark or shadow fleet has rewired the world’s energy system. To ensure the flow of oil from Russia and Iran in the face of the West’s sanctions, new networks of traders and shipowners have emerged in the past few years, many of them centered on Dubai.
Their methods? Acquire tankers — often older, cheaper ones — and use opaque webs of shell companies, ship-to-ship transfers and games with tracking technology to obscure the origins of the oil and find a willing buyer, most often in Asia.
It’s worked. The flows of Russian and Iranian oil have continued unabated and, importantly, the prices those cargoes are fetching have narrowed the gap with global benchmarks.
The dark fleet is becoming bigger and more sophisticated even as Western officials try to keep it in check.