Tanker giant Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has denied that any of its ships have turned off vessel tracking transmitters amid growing evidence of “dark activity” by Russian-linked tankers.
The denial comes a day after TradeWinds reported that technology firm Windward said the Moscow company’s ships were among a rising number of Russian-flag and Russian-linked tankers that have been detected carrying out dark activities, when vessels turn off or stop transmitting AIS data.
Company spokesperson Nikita Sekretarev said the claims do not correspond to the facts.
“The company asserts that there were no occurrences when SCF vessels had deliberately turned off their AIS transmitters or were instructed to act so in direct breach of international rules and regulations,” Sekretarev told TradeWinds.
The company said AIS can only be turned off when a vessel is alongside a terminal or in a port area where hydrocarbon gases may be present, and that must be documented in a logbook and reported to appropriate authorities.
According to data supplied to TradeWinds by Windward, there were 50 incidences of dark activity by Russian-flagged or Russian-linked crude, chemical and product tankers in the week beginning 19 March, and 52 incidents in the week before that.
Prior to that in 2022, there had been an average of just 16 incidences of dark activity per week.
In addition, the Israel-headquartered firm, which uses artificial intelligence to analyse shipping activity, told TradeWinds that in the week to 28 March, there were 13 dark activities by Sovcomflot vessels.
But Sovcomflot’s Sekretarev said: “Switching AIS off while a vessel is underway is strictly prohibited by the company as it contradicts Solas [Safety of Life at Sea] regulation.”
