Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has switched four sanctioned tankers to the domestic flag, renaming them after cities in the country.
The suezmax and three aframaxes were among the 14 Sovcomflot vessels sanctioned by the US in February in a bid to hit Russia’s revenue from oil sales.
They have been moved from the Gabon register. All were renamed on 1 April, according to the Equasis database.
The 156,000-dwt suezmax NS Bravo (built 2010) has become the Belgorod. The ship reflagged from Liberia to Gabon in March 2023.
The 105,900-dwt aframax NS Captain (built 2006) has been renamed the Kaliningrad, and the 105,700-dwt NS Columbus and 105,800-dwt NS Creation (both built 2007) are now the Kemerovo and the Krasnoyarsk, respectively.
They were also reflagged from Liberia on 1 January this year.
Name changes superficially distance vessels from sanctions lists, but their International Maritime Organization identification numbers remain unchanged.
The Russian flag move will, however, give Sovcomflot greater certainty over how the ships can be used, and more protection.
The change could also be a sign that the shipowner feels it is meeting operational challenges posed by Western sanctions, and represents a defiant stance by so clearly identifying the vessels with Russia through their names.
Massive earnings logged
In its first results statement since the Ukraine war began, the company revealed a huge rise in profit for 2023 to $942m, as the disruption to Russia’s trading patterns sent rates rocketing.
And this week, India refiners started to accept cargoes on the owner’s tankers once again, after a pause in March over sanctions fears.
In December, Liberia removed seven blacklisted tankers from its registry, including six Sovcomflot vessels.
They were sanctioned for alleged G7 oil price cap breaches.
These included the 110,043-dwt NS Champion (built 2005) and 118,175-dwt Viktor Bakaev (built 2013), which were accused of hauling oil sold above $70 a barrel.
The third ship blacklisted in December was the 114,896-dwt HS Atlantica (built 2006).
Three SCF tankers were sanctioned in November, the 115,700-dwt Kazan, 114,700-dwt Ligovsky Prospect (both built 2003) and 105,700-dwt NS Century (built 2006).
The first Russian tanker sanctioned in October was the SCF-controlled 157,300-dwt suezmax SCF Primorye (built 2009).
