In an opinion piece in Bloomberg, the waters off Ceuta have become one of the key points for the Russian oil ghost fleet, reports journalist Javier Blas, an expert on raw materials.
In the port of the autonomous Spanish city located in North Africa, small ships arrive – chartered or bought by Russia – mostly owned by Western companies, which must comply with sanctions imposed by Brussels.
Aframax ships, carrying around 700,000 barrels, deliver to large oil tankers, very large crude oil tankers (VLCCs), capable of carrying two million barrels of black gold, upon arrival at Ceuta. From here, the boats leave for their final destination, Asia.
Since December, according to Bloomberg, six VLCCs have left Ceuta after receiving Russian crude oil delivered to 15 Aframax.
Javier Blass also notes that the tankers are 12 nautical miles from Ceuta to stay out of Spanish waters.
Author of the book “World for Sale” Explains that this preference for Moscow is mainly related to cost and security reasons.
According to data from Vortexa consultancy cited by Spanish newspaper El Economista, many of the crews on these vessels are experienced sailors in the oil black market, as they have been involved in similar operations linked to Iran and Venezuela.
