Spanish NGO warns of continued bunkering ops by Russian ships
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by Admin
Ecologists in Action, a Spanish confederation of more than 300 environmental groups, on Saturday (8 April) warned about the continuation of bunkering operations by Russian ships off the coast of Ceuta, Spain.
The group said this is ongoing despite Spain’s Ministry of Transport submitting a proposal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to limit ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfers of Russian ships off the coast of Ceuta bound for Asia.
“It must be remembered that these activities are prohibited by the European Union (EU) to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine,” it said.
Ecologists of Action also said it has already informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of such activities and has not received “any response”.
“There are dozens of ships from Russia that cross the Baltic Sea, passing through the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar, to wait for other vessels and carry out the unloading,” it added.
The group also warned there are three vessels coming from Russia and are waiting to unload fuel off the coast of Ceuta currently.
“These bunkering operations are being carried out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Alboran Sea on occasions, others in the Contiguous Zone to the Territorial Sea of Morocco,” it continued.
“These transfers are made without control and sometimes with satellite monitoring (AIS) turned off. These satellite navigation systems provide the exact position in which the oil tanker is located.”
“Bunkering operations are regulated by the IMO in the MARPOL agreement and fuel transfers in the ZEE must be communicated to the Coastal State.”
Ecologists in Action warned such practices in the area are dangerous and will put the environment of the Alboran Sea at risk.
Note: The names of the vessels mentioned in the article can be found here.
Related: IMO: Addressing ship-to-ship oil transfers and tankers in the ‘dark fleet’
Photo credit: Shaah Shahidh on Unsplash
Published: 11 April, 2023
