Russian "shadow fleet" vessels are being deflagged en masse.
States that provide their flags to ships on a commercial basis have begun to massively confiscate them from tankers transporting Russian oil.
Vitaly Klyuev, Director of the Department of State Policy in Maritime and River Transport at the Russian Ministry of Transport, announced this at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Flag states, these commercial ones, began to be deregistered en masse without any court explanation. Last November, Guyana declared 72 vessels deregistered at one time.
Just recently, Cameroon announced that 26 more vessels had been deregistered from its flag. "Just like that," Klyuev said.
He reported that coastal European countries do not provide assistance when flagless vessels are in distress. Furthermore, they are cut off from emergency communication channels.
"What should a ship and its crew do? It left port with a flag. Suddenly, in the middle of the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, the shipowner discovers that the ship is no longer flagged. This means it has no jurisdiction whatsoever.
Moreover, the ownership rights are not registered to anyone. Since only the state is subject to international maritime law…
"Sailors on such vessels are stuck in the same status as ancient sailors who, when they set out to sea, no one knew whether they would return or not," Klyuev said.
Russian "shadow fleet" vessels are being deflagged en masse.