Number of tankers operating in dark fleet tops 1,000: Vortexa
Quantum Commodity Intelligence – The number of tankers that have operated in the opaque market between January 2021 to March 2023 and are still active has reached 1,000, according to analytics and tanker tracking company Vortexa.
Most prominently, Russia now accounts for over 50% of the so-called 'dark fleet' total, operating 509 crude and refined products vessels between early December when EU sanctions first kicked in and 5 February.
The report also found Iran and Venezuela have 198 and 136 active tankers operating in their respective markets from January 2021 to March 2023, with the combined level accounting for 34% of the total, which is also referred to as the 'ghost fleet' in acknowledgement that transponders are typically kept switched off.
In addition, there are 157 active ships which operate on behalf of more than one country, accounting for 16% of the total fleet, while 125 tankers have switched from Iran and Venezuela to Russia.
Vortexa said it tracked 745 tankers which carried Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan crude, condensate and products in Q1 2023, a 300% y-o-y increase, while Russian carriers accounted for 80% of all opaque market tanker activity in Q1, a 50% increase on Q4 2022.
Influx
The influx of Russian dark-fleet carriers since December has resulted in a surge in smaller tankers in this fleet, with Aframaxes (80,0000 dwt) and smaller classes accounting for 70% of the active fleet in Q1, a 35% increase q-o-q.
VLCCs (200,000 dwt) in the Iranian & Venezuelan trade accounted for 90% of VLCCs in the Q4-2022 to Q1-2023 period.
Iran also contributed to the increase in tankers operating in Q1, as 14 tankers newly joined the Iranian crude trade, which followed the 12 tankers which joined the fleet in Q4.
As of 10 April, Vortexa tracked 23 tankers in transit carrying Urals or ESPO that previously carried Iranian and Venezuelan crude, accounting for over 20% of all tankers in-transit carrying Russian crude.
The report also found Greek operators dominate Russian crude trade from Baltics and Black Sea, whereas Russian & Chinese operators largely control Russia's Far East shipments.
Tankers in the opaque fleet average 20 years old and the most common flags are Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands.
