Greenpeace warns: Putin's shadow fleet endangers the Baltic Sea - in the end, the taxpayer pays
Environmentalists expose Russian oil tankers
Secret oil trade despite sanctions
The environmental organization Greenpeace has accused Russia of circumventing sanctions and endangering the Baltic Sea with a secret oil fleet. According to Greenpeace, Russian oil is being transported in the Baltic Sea under false flags and with switched-off transponders in order to avoid detection.
The environmentalists presented a report on Thursday in which they documented 32 cases of suspicious oil tanker movements in the Baltic Sea since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. According to the report, the ships are often registered in non-EU countries such as the United Arab Emirates or Liberia. They would load oil from Russian ports and then sail to unknown destinations with their transponders switched off.
Greenpeace: Taxpayers' money is used to rescue Russian ships
Greenpeace accuses the Russian government of deliberately endangering the Baltic Sea with its secret oil fleet. The environmentalists warn that the ships could cause oil spills that would have devastating consequences for the marine ecosystem. In addition, Greenpeace criticizes the fact that German taxpayers' money is being used to rescue Russian ships that have gotten into distress in the Baltic Sea.
"Putin's shadow fleet is a threat to the Baltic Sea"
"Putin's shadow fleet is a threat to the Baltic Sea," said Greenpeace campaigner Thilo Maack. "The Russian government is deliberately circumventing sanctions and endangering our environment." Maack called on the EU to take action against the secret oil fleet.
The EU has already imposed sanctions on Russian oil. However, these sanctions are difficult to enforce as they can be circumvented with the help of a shadow fleet. Greenpeace is calling for the EU to close loopholes that allow Russian oil to be transported to the EU under false flags. The environmentalists also demand that the EU provide more support to the Baltic Sea countries to monitor and combat the secret oil fleet.
