Shipping data has revealed the first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of Russian crude in the Red Sea, according to Bloomberg.
The news agency said the operation took place towards the end of April.
Tracking data showed the 116,000-dwt Indian-controlled aframax Panta Rei 1 (built 2006) transferring its cargo onto the Gabon-flag 116,000-dwt Odysseus (built 2007), the report claimed.
The Gabon vessel then took the crude into India.
Russian oil STS operations usually take place in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Laconian Gulf off Greece.
The Panama-flag Panta Rei 1, the former Mars Sun, left the Russian oil port of Ust-Luga on 22 March.
It arrived at the Suez Canal’s south anchorage in the Red Sea on 10 April, and has remained there, AIS data shows.
The Odysseus arrived at anchorage off Mumbai on Monday.
The operator of the Panta Rei 1 is listed as Margao Marine Solutions OPC of India as of October 2023.
InstaFinancials lists Margao as formed in 2022.
It is classified as a private company controlled by one person.
The company could not be contacted.
Insurers not listed
The Odysseus is the former P Fos, sold by Performance Shipping in 2022. The Equasis database shows the owner as Tirad Shipping in Mauritius, which could also not be contacted.
The insurers of both tankers are not known.
TradeWinds reported on Monday that exercises by Greek navy ships have forced tankers to transfer Russian oil further out into international waters.
The exercises were announced by the country’s Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service on its website.
They took place in an area off the south coast used for ship-to-ship-transfers of Russian exports.
The activity began on 1 May and will run until 9 May.
The Laconian Gulf became a key spot for oil transfers following sanctions being placed on Russian sales after the Ukraine invasion.
Since the exercises began, tankers have left the gulf and gathered just to the south, Bloomberg cited data from TankerTrackers as showing.
