SPURENSUCHE: Russische Ă–l-Tanker vor griechischer KĂĽste - was passiert dort? I frontal
Mysterious
tanker
sightings have led us to Greece. For months, oil tanker
s have been appearing in unfamiliar areas and behaving erratically. “In the beginning we could only see it on the monitor. And there you can see all these orange dots. The suspicion: Russian oil is being reloaded on the high seas here. To circumvent sanctions and thus further fill Putin's war chest. "Has it increased? I mean more ship-to-ship transfers.” “Yes, more. Russian tanker
s, all Russians.” We look for explanations. Strange things are happening at the southernmost tip of the European continent. Coastal residents have spotted Russian oil tanker
s in the Laconian Gulf since the spring.![spurensuche russische l tanker vor griechischer k ste was passiert dort i frontal]()
Fischer reported that nothing like this had ever happened before. You can only guess what the
tanker
s want in their fishing area. "There were three tanker
s. 17, 18 miles out there exchanging gas, oil or whatever. They gave or took." A hotel not far from the port town of Gythios. The owner tells us about tanker
s very close to the coast and shows us photos. The hotel operator fears that a tanker
accident could destroy his existence. "This is a danger to nature, the sea and the livelihoods of the people in this area - and that is tourism." Observations by a conservationist pose even more puzzles.![spurensuche russische l tanker vor griechischer k ste was passiert dort i frontal]()
He claims to have seen
tanker
s on the horizon, drifting in pairs side by side on the open sea. However, his inquiries to the port police had led to nothing. "If any ship wants to come in, here in the harbor, yes, then they control it. But only then. If it's out there, look away...” The mysterious tanker
sightings also led us to Greece. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU has been trying to stop Putin from continuing to sell oil to fill his war chest. Brussels had therefore decided on sanctions, which, however, allowed a few exceptions. These gaps are to be closed from December: no more Russian oil is to be imported into the EU by sea.![spurensuche russische l tanker vor griechischer k ste was passiert dort i frontal]()
This is intended to weaken Putin. But does it work? For weeks we have been following the routes of oil
tanker
s via internet trackers. “In the beginning we could only see it on the monitor. And you see all those orange dots. These are all tanker
s. Some of the ships come from Russian ports on the Black Sea, then go through the Bosphorus, along the Greek coast.” And if so, if you look more closely, you don't just see one tanker
behind a switch, but sometimes two tanker
s like here, one on the right and one on the left.” An Internet video shows what could be going on.![spurensuche russische l tanker vor griechischer k ste was passiert dort i frontal]()
The process is called ship-to-ship transfer: STS. Oil is pumped from one
tanker
to another. Analysts at Lloyd, one of the largest shipping insurers, believe in recent reports that STS operations in the Laconian Gulf are being used to disguise the origins of Russian oil. A way to avoid sanctions. What we have only been able to see on screens so far, we want to test at sea. We hire a skipper. When he found out what we were up to, he showed us the tugboats of a Greek company in the port that transport ship-to-ship equipment to the tanker
s. "On the other side are these balloons." The black balloons are so-called fenders.![spurensuche russische l tanker vor griechischer k ste was passiert dort i frontal]()
They protect the hulls of the
tanker
s while lying close together. Our skipper claims that he himself was present at such STS operations. "Has it increased? I mean more ship-to-ship transfers.” “Yes, more Russian tanker
s. All Russians.” On the phone he shows us photos. They are supposed to show Russian tanker
s pumping oil. About eight nautical miles from the mainland: tanker
in sight. There are three ships ahead of us. Including the Mariner III. She sails under the flag of Panama. In the enlargement you can see the black balloons, the fenders that are necessary for oil handling at sea. The operation has not started yet.![spurensuche russische l tanker vor griechischer k ste was passiert dort i frontal]()
We will also not be able to film them for the time being, because our filming does not go unnoticed. "Spin everything you can." Our skipper is on the phone. With who? We do not know. "We weren't very close. They took some pictures from afar. Now we're lagging behind." Our skipper does not know that we can hear him. You seem to know each other well. "I didn't drive her near." Our skipper turns away. We'll be back in port before the oil is pumped. We'll try overland. We follow the
tanker
s south on a coastal road. ships on the horizon.Then we see this pair of
tanker
s in the distance. One of the ships is the Marina III, which we have previously seen at sea with the black fenders. According to the route tracker, the tanker
was recently in a Russian oil port. Next to the Marina III is another tanker
registered in the Marshall Islands. Is oil pumped? Can't say for sure from here. Greek MPs are also concerned that Russian tanker
s are loading oil onto other ships for sale around the world without sanctions. "Right after the start of the Ukraine war, fishermen told us that large tanker
s were entering the Laconian Gulf for the first time and that tanker
s were sticking together and something happened.The problem is that no country can control what happens outside the six miles. Where does the oil come from and where is it going?” The Greek government recently said it could do nothing to stop oil being pumped out at sea. "As we speak, at least four ship-to-ship operations are taking place." We're going out again. Perhaps today we can film Russian
tanker
s transhipping oil to avoid sanctions. “We have a faster boat today. I have a chance to get closer. I see two tanker
s on the map that are very close to each other and have reduced speed. We suspect this will be a ship to ship transfer.We're going there now." We're happy. Approximately in the middle of the Laconian Gulf, two
tanker
s are transporting oil. Clearly recognizable: hoses and the black fenders. "I mean, I can try." "Hello, gentlemen. This is speaking Arndt Ginzel from Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. I have a question: Firstly, is this Russian oil? We don't get any answers. Instead, seeing it from the drone's perspective: oil slicks covering the sea. A few nautical miles further: the next ship-to-ship Transfer." A ship from the Russian shipping company SCF is lying in front of us. Next to it is a second tanker
. And we just drove around a bit and saw that the two of them are now transferring oil, the oil is being transferred from one ship to the other.Of course it will Hardly anyone can determine where the oil originally came from as soon as it lands in a port.The Russian state shipping company SCF is under sanctions because of the Ukraine war.The ship was last in Russia Oil port Ust-Luga. "Gentlemen! Sounds right... Arndt Ginzel from Deutsches Fernsehen. We have questions! First, what is the goal of this STS operation? Second, is that Russian oil? Third question: where should the oil go? Should no more Russian oil be able to get to Europe by sea. But how effective will the new sanctions be? What do you think?
Write it in the comments and leave a subscription. Not only for oil, but also for the sanctioning of oligarchs close to Putin Not smooth You can see the problems German authorities have with this in the video on the left.
