Since Monday, Russia has been subject to a European embargo on its crude oil exports by sea. To preserve your oil profits, you could circumvent this ban by following the lead of Venezuela and Iran. These two oil-embargoed countries continue to export through secondary channels.

The Islamic Republic is a master of this clandestine trade. Just a week ago, a large shipment of Iranian crude (700,000 barrels) was unloaded at the Syrian port of Banias. The ship carrying it had been located and blocked in Greece by US authorities. Finally, he left for his final destination after the decision of the Greek courts. The adventures of this tanker are just the tip of the iceberg of these hidden sales.

In theory, Iranian oil is almost impossible to export since 2018 and 2019, the years of the embargo imposed by the United States. In practice, black gold continues to leave the country, up to a million barrels per day in recent months. In the medium term, US sanctions have at least halved Iranian crude exports. Therefore, they are effective, but not totally waterproof.

Tehran has created a fleet of ghost tankers to guarantee deliveries

They are usually old boats, which sometimes operate without insurance. Out of sight, off the coast of Malaysia, for example, crews confuse the origin of the oil, or transship cargoes to other vessels and falsify cargo documents. These practices are complicated, expensive, and slow down trade, but they achieve their goal.

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