When ‘shadow’ ships break maritime laws

Today’s ‘shadow’ or ‘dark’ ships represent a growing problem. Older tankers transport cargoes of sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela, and to escape recognition their owners register them under ‘compliant’, lesser-known - and even in some cases fraudulent - flags and often without insurance or certification by respectable International Group P&I Clubs or IACS-member classification societies. 

As the sanctions lists grow, fear of ‘a rogue’ fleet of substandard tonnage is accumulating. This concern was raised at a recent webinar by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica replayed in this issue (see pp.38-45). Caribbean nations, dependent on tourism, worry that a catastrophic oil spill will be caused by substandard tankers and/or unregulated cargo transfers at sea.

But we need to get the focus in the right place. Sanctions breakers use old ships because they are cheap, disposable assets that illicit traders can walk away from. So the focus should be on ensuring that ships meet regulatory standards - when carrying sanctioned cargo and when they return to commercial trade. 

Port State Control, Class Societies and cargo insurers are in the hot seat here. Many port states are already doing this and establishing punitive penalties for transgressors might be appropriate.

However, this issue’s Alternative Viewpoint (pp.34-5) points out that freedom of navigation on the high seas remains a right under UNCLOS. Ships carrying ‘sanctioned’ cargo between countries not observing those sanctions are entitled to trade, but only if they comply with IMO regulations. 

The real issue is therefore not the ‘shadow ship’, it is finding a viable way to enforce ‘shadow compliance’.