油輪在大西洋中部罕見地轉換俄羅斯原油貨物

Recently Yahoo New on-line reported the following:

Oil Tankers Make Rare Mid-Atlantic Switch of Russian Crude Cargo

Julian Lee

Mon, June 6, 2022, 2:07 AM

(Bloomberg) -- Shippers of Russian crude are turning to unusual methods to move cargoes displaced from Europe over much longer distances to new customers. The most recent example is a ship-to-ship transfer in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Aframax tanker Zhen I discharged its cargo into the supertanker Lauren II in waters 300 miles west of the island of Madeira, according to ship-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg. The transfer took place May 26 to 27.

Moving cargoes onto larger vessels is not unusual, but what is far less common is the location where it happened. Most transfers take place in sheltered waters, where the risks of oil spills are greatly reduced. Russian cargoes have been transferred to bigger ships off Skaw in Denmark, in the western Mediterranean off the Spanish North African town of Ceuta, and even in the North Sea off Rotterdam. This is the first transfer seen on the high seas.

The Zhen I has now returned to the Baltic Sea, where it’s due to load its next cargo from Primorsk, Russia, in mid-June, according to a loading program seen by Bloomberg. The Lauren II is drifting in the mid-Atlantic, possibly awaiting the transfer of another cargo. A ship as large as the Lauren II can hold as many as three cargoes of the size typically carried by a vessel like the Zhen I. That makes them a much more economic option for carrying crude over very long distances.

Self-sanctioning of Russian crude by some European refiners is already forcing greater volumes to be moved much longer distances to buyers, particularly in India. As European Union sanctions begin to bite deeper into flows to Europe, we can expect to see more Russian crude being shipped further, with the country seeking new markets for its oil. Mid-ocean cargo transfers may become more common, if buyers and sellers start to try masking the destinations of Russia’s oil exports.

Translation

(彭博社) - 俄羅斯原油的托運人正在轉向不尋常的方法，將來自歐洲的貨物用長距離運送到新送客戶處。最近的例子是大西洋中部的船對船轉運。

根據彭博社監測的船舶跟踪數據，Aframax油輪 Zhen I  號將貨物卸入在 Madeira島以西300 英里水域的超級油輪Lauren II 中。貨物轉移發生在 5 月 26 日至 27 日。

將貨物轉移到更大的船隻上並不罕見，但發生的地點卻不太常見。大多數轉移發生在避風水域，使石油洩漏的風險大大降低。俄羅斯的貨物已被在丹麥 Skaw 的附近轉移到大型船隻、或在西班牙北非城鎮Ceuta附近的西地中海，甚至鹿特丹附近的北海。這是第一次看到的公海上轉移。

根據彭博社看到的裝載程序，Zhen I 號現已返回波羅的海，將於 6 月中旬從俄羅斯Primorsk裝載下一批貨物。Lauren II 正在大西洋中部漂流，可能正在等待另一批貨物的轉移。像 Lauren II 這樣大的船, 最多裝載量是Zhen I通常標準裝載貨物量三倍。這使得它們成為更經濟的遠距離運輸原油的更經濟選擇。

一些歐洲煉油廠對俄羅斯原油的自我制裁已經迫使更多的原油運往更遠的距離，尤其是往印度。隨著歐盟開始更深入地制裁向歐洲的流動，我們可以預期看到更多的俄羅斯原油被輸出到更遠處，以為該國石油尋找新市場。如果買賣雙方開始嘗試掩蓋俄羅斯石油出口的目的地，中海貨物轉運可能會變得更加普遍。

       So, mid-ocean cargo transfers may become more common, if buyers and sellers start to try masking the destinations of Russia’s oil export. I am wondering if oil embargo is really effective. I notice similar situations happen for the embargoed Iranian oil in reaching China.