Dark fleet: Creeping anarchy in oceans

The fatal explosion that ripped through the tanker Pablo offshore Malaysia has focused attention on the dangers the ‘dark fleet’ raises for shipping safety, reports Seatrade Maritime News.

It ought to be a red light flashing - an alarm signal alerting both world shipping and its regulators that there is something with the potential to do serious harm to an essential industry already under scrutiny for its environmental record.

The gruesome wreckage of the Aframax Pablo, swinging to its anchor in the South China Sea, ought to be ringing alarm bells, wherever the ‘dark fleet’ of sanction-busting tankers is to be found.

This is the second, albeit far more serious accident (with its three missing crew and multiple injuries) in these busy waters.

Where is the will to stop any of this growing threat to other shipping, coastal states and the global liability and compensation regime?

One does not require a terribly long memory of a period in shipping’s recent history of a time when low maintenance became no maintenance, with fatal consequences. And there is no secret about the risks that are being run by the shadowy figures that have moved into the transport of cargo from Russia, Venezuela and Iran.

At the recent meeting of the IMO Legal Committee, a whole range of doubtful practices were detailed, ranging from the dangers of ship-to-ship transfers of oil in the high seas and other unsuitable locations, to the routine practices of operating with AIS transponders turned off, a fairly conclusive reason for having something to hide.

Even more important and worrying is the age and operational standards of the dark fleet, said to be between 300-600 ships, with overdue inspections, almost certain sub-standard maintenance, opaque ownership and extremely dubious insurance status.

What is particularly worrying is the speed with which this deterioration has arisen and its threat to a well-run system that gave reasonable confidence to the industry players and the regulatory regime.

Is there any will to stop this creeping anarchy, or is it all to be lost in tedious legal arguments about sovereignty and freedom of the seas?

Where is the robust, international and immediate response that will stop this becoming a far worse international scandal that will leach out into the rest of world shipping?

There are flag states, which could just about cope with the registration of time-expired tiny coasters, which now find to their delight they are responsible (one should use this word advisedly), for fleets of elderly VLCCs, hopefully providing them with a delightful uplift in fees.

There are ships which change their identities almost overnight, owned by brass-plate entities of dubious provenance that will disappear in the blink of an eye.

One doesn’t want to even consider the potential for serious criminality and money laundering in this exciting currency of elderly ships.

There are classification societies, “Responsible Organizations” with no technical competence and lucrative business for suppliers of seafarers to run these ships for one-off voyages, about which questions will not be welcomed.

Who will be picking up the pieces after these ships come to grief? Where is the traceability, who might conceivably be liable for the wreck removal, the pollution response, the compensation for the relatives of the dead and the injured.

One might suggest that it is just a phase caused by temporary circumstances like the war and the imposition of sanctions (which have always been problematic). But while it lasts, are innocent others just bound to suffer from the almost automatic evasion of liabilities after the inevitable accidents? Why pay into pollution funds when the evasive…..evade?

It is probably true that there are some parts of the world at more risk than others from the deterioration of the dark fleet over time.

International maritime lawyers might huff and puff but who could possibly blame coastal states from unilaterally banning these ships from their EEZs and if they have appropriate military means, subjecting ships which stray into their seas to proper inspections.

Innocent passage isn’t very innocent when it involves ships with thoroughly suspect credentials, so it should be perfectly legitimate to ask questions, prohibit anchoring or ship-ship transfers.

Do we just sit around and wait for further groundings, collisions, explosions and other calamities, possibly involving a great deal of split oil.

 

Iran and Pakistan stress expansion of trade between private sectors

Head of Tran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (TCCIMA) Masoud Khansari and Chief Executive of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Muhammad Zubair Motiwala expressed the need for the expansion of relations between the private sectors of the two countries in a meeting in Tehran.

The officials emphasized that the trade between the two countries should not be limited to the border trade in Quetta and must be directed to official channels between the private production and export companies of the two countries, the TCCIMA portal reported.

Speaking at the meeting, Motiwala announced the readiness of his organization for long-term and progressive interaction with TCCIMA in order to facilitate the commercial exchanges of the two sides’ economic enterprises.

He stressed the need for continuous exchange of business delegations with the aim of introducing the economic and market cooperation capacities of the two countries and identifying the goods and services needed by the markets of both sides.

According to the official, the chambers of commerce in the two countries can provide the basis for the expansion of interaction between the private sectors of the two countries.

Motiwala also considered the revision and modification of the tariffs on commodities traded between the two countries as necessary to increase the level of economic cooperation, and in this regard, he reminded that Pakistan is taking serious measures.

Khansari for his part, welcomed the ideas presented by the Pakistani side and emphasized the need for amending the tariffs on goods exchanged between Iran and Pakistan.

“A complete list of commodities needed by the markets of the two countries has been prepared by the Tehran Chamber of Commerce which has been compiled by the data provided by reliable companies,” Khansari said.

Stating that the main channel of trade between the two countries is border exchanges which are almost entirely carried out through the Quetta border, the TCCIMA head said, “In order to strengthen the economic relations between Iran and Pakistan, the trade of the two countries should move away from cross-border exchanges towards interaction between large industries and companies from both sides.

In this context, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and the country’s chambers of commerce should encourage the reputable and big industries and businessmen of Pakistan to have direct economic cooperation with the Iranian market.”

Lately, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mohammad-Ali Hosseini and Pakistani Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar discussed the ways for increasing trade between the two countries in a meeting in Islamabad.

Expressing their satisfaction that the trade between the two countries exceeded US$2 billion, the two sides emphasized the need to take more effective steps to strengthen economic cooperation and help expand trade relations.

During the meeting, the Pakistani minister said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with the friendly and brotherly country of Iran.

Appreciating the efforts of the Iranian ambassador during his diplomatic mission in Pakistan in order to strengthen the brotherly relations between the two neighboring countries, Senator Ishaq Dar praised the measures taken especially in the commercial and economic fields.

Expressing their satisfaction with the value of trade between Iran and Pakistan, which has exceeded two billion US dollars, the two sides emphasized the need to identify new ways to help increase trade and develop economic cooperation.

Emphasizing the country's economic outlook, Pakistan's finance minister expressed confidence that despite economic challenges, Pakistan is on the path of progress and development.

Iranian ambassador to Pakistan has appreciated the cooperation and support of the Pakistani government for the development of bilateral relations in various fields, and stated that the potential capacities of Iran and Pakistan are the main factor for the expansion of joint cooperation.

He added that bilateral trade between Iran and Pakistan has now reached US$2.4 billion, but it is not compatible with the good political and people relations of the two neighbors and more efforts should be made to support the business community of the two countries.

Back in January, Iran and Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate bilateral trade between the two countries.

The MOU was signed by Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak and Muhammad Zubair Motiwala.

Based on the MOU, which was signed on the sidelines of Iran’s Exclusive Exhibition in Karachi, the parties pledged to exchange business information, support each other’s private sectors, and provide the conditions and context for the presence of their trade delegations in the other country.

It was also agreed that both sides would take all the necessary measures to facilitate holding exhibitions in the opposite country, whenever required.

Speaking in the signing ceremony, Peyman-Pak said that signing this MOU was indicative of the two sides’ determination for removing the obstacles in the way of bilateral trade and prepare the ground for the businesspersons of both sides to bolster cooperation.

He considered the holding of exclusive exhibitions, exchanging trade delegations and investment in joint production units as positive steps for knowing the capacities and needs of the two countries and expressed hope that such events would continue.

The TPO head further mentioned some obstacles and infrastructural problems that are hindering the two countries' mutual trade, including lack of banking relations, problems related to sea transportation and logistics, and tariff-related issues, saying that the Iranian government is willing to resolve such problems in collaboration with the Pakistani government.

Motiwala said that the signed MOU is regarded as a major step to enhance bilateral trade to reach the target of US$5 billion annually.

 

Iranian crude oil production exceeds 2.5 million bpd in March 2023

Iranian crude oil production was reported at 2.567 million barrels per day (bpd) for March 2023, it was 8,000 bpd less than the figure for the previous month, according to OPEC’s latest monthly report.

According to OPEC data, daily production by the members of the organization also decreased by 86,000 bpd in the said month as compared to February 2023.

In March this year, the price of Iranian heavy crude oil registered a 3.8% decline to US$78.8 per barrel.

According to the report, the country’s average heavy crude price was US$80.67 from the beginning of 2023 up to the report’s publishing day, as compared to US$97.55 in the previous year’s same period.

OPEC Basket prices also declined 4.2% or US$3.43 to US$78.45 a barrel in March 2023.

Iran’s oil production in 2022 increased by 7% as compared to the previous year, according to OPEC’s first monthly report released in 2023.

Based on the OPEC data, Iran produced 2.554 million bpd of crude oil in 2022 that was 162,000 bpd more than the figure for 2021, when the output was reported at 2.392 million bpd.

Citing secondary sources, the report put Iranian crude output for December 2022 at 2.574 million bpd indicating a 9,000-bpd increase compared to the figure for November.

The country’s heavy crude oil price also increased by US$30.12 in 2022 to register a 43% rise as compared to year 2021, according to OPEC.

Iran sold its heavy crude oil at US$99.92 per barrel on average in the mentioned year, as compared to 2021 when the average price was US$69.8 per barrel.

In the last month of 2022, the average price of Iranian heavy oil was reported at US$79.11, which was lesser by US$9.62 as compared to the previous month.

 

US ethanol exports exceeds 132 million gallons in March 2023

The United States exported 132.27 million gallons of ethanol and 898,086 tons of distillers’ grains in March, according to the data released by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on May 04, 2023. Exports of both products were up as compared to the previous month.

The 132.27 million gallons of ethanol exported in March was up when compared to both the 104.03 million gallons exported the previous month and the 125.1 million gallons exported in March 2022.

The US exported ethanol to more than three dozen countries in March. Canada was the top destination for US ethanol exports at 56.56 million gallons, followed by India at 22.76 million gallons and the Netherlands at 11.35 million gallons.

The value of US ethanol exports reached US$341.93 million in March, up from US$288.43 million in February, but down slightly from US$342.16 million in March 2022.

Total US ethanol exports for the first three months of 2023 reached 354.12 million gallons at a value of US$956.01 million, as compared to 393.66 million gallons exported during the same period of 2022 at a value of US$1.02 billion.

The 898,086 metric tons of distillers grains exported in March was up from 764,494 tons exported in February, but down from 927,134 tons exported in March 2022.

The US exported distillers grains to more than three dozen countries in March. Mexico was the top destination for US distillers grains export at 209,812 tons, followed by South Korea at 127,685 tons, and Turkey at 103,346 tons.

The value of U.S. distillers grains exports reached US$296.53 million in March, up from US$252.82 million the previous month and US$274.05 million in March of the previous year.

Total distillers grains exports for the first quarter of 2023 reached 2.43 million tons at a value of US$802.18 million, compared to 2.88 million tons exported during the same period of last year at a value of US$804.61 million.

War being waged against Russia, says Putin

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said a real war was again being waged against Russia as he invoked the Soviet Union's victory in World War II to say the West was trying to destroy his country.

In a speech on Red Square as part of Russia's Victory Day celebrations, Putin said Russia wanted to see a peaceful future, and said the entire country was behind what Russia calls the special military operation in Ukraine.

Putin said that Russians were united in a sacred fight with the West over Ukraine but the strains of war were evident at one of the most pared back anniversaries of the victory over Nazi Germany in decades.

Putin has repeatedly likened the war in Ukraine - which he casts as a defensive move against a West which wants to carve up Russia - to the challenge Moscow faced when Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.

"The decisive battles for the fate of our Motherland have always become patriotic, all-national and sacred," Putin told veterans and soldiers assembled on Red Square for the annual Victory Day parade.

Putin hailed Russian forces in Ukraine as heroes who were fighting for the country's future against a West which, he said, had forgotten the decisive role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany.

Cheers rang out across Red Square, with a gun salute and the Russian national anthem, though with a much curtailed show of military hardware - and no aviation. A single tank took part - a T-34, a type used in World War Two.

The Soviet Union had lost 27 million people in World War II, including many millions in Ukraine, but eventually pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945.

Iran hosting conference on new world order

Tehran will host an international conference on the emerging new world order on May 10-11, General Esmail Ahmadi Moqaddam announced on Monday. 

Moqaddam, the former police chief who is currently the head of Iran’s National Defense University, said Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf will deliver opening remarks at the conference. 

“In addition, General [Mohammad Hossein] Bagheri, Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces, and three other foreign speakers will be the keynote speakers of the ceremony. The closing ceremony speaker will be Admiral [Ali] Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council,” General Ahmadi Moqaddam added. 

“Guests from 36 countries will participate in this conference, and bilateral meetings between Iranian officials and foreign guests, as well as between foreign guests, will be held on the sidelines of this conference,” he added.

The former police chief went on to say that Saudi Arabia does not have an official presence and its scholars are not participating in the conference, but in the coming years, if such conferences are held we will have a serious plan for the participation of our neighbors.

General Bagheri, who recently visited Oman, described the conference as significant. The general pointed out that Tehran would host a significant conference on the new international order, which will be attended by a number of nations, including Oman.

In recent years, Iran and Oman have conducted a number of joint naval exercises.

The Iranian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman conducted a combined military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman in December 2021. 

The military drill, which was the eighth of its type between the naval forces of Iran and Oman, was carried out in accordance with a decision made at meetings of the two nations’ joint military friendship commissions.

 

Saudi Arabia and China to enhance cooperation in peaceful use of atomic energy

According to Saudi Gazette report, Saudi and Chinese officials discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the areas of peaceful use of atomic energy and nuclear technology.

The talks were held between Eng. Abdullah Al-Shamrani, CEO of the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), and Liu Jing, vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) at the headquarters of SGS in Jeddah on Monday.

During their talks, the SGS and CAEA officials examined aspects of partnership and mutual cooperation in the fields of geosciences and alternative geo energy. The meeting reviewed a number of projects related to geological sciences and the national geological database, and the capabilities and experiences possessed by the two parties, which ensure the improvement of the outputs of joint work.

The Chinese delegation also paid a field visit to the drilling library to view the mechanism and digitization of core drilling samples, as well as colored spectral images of mineral components. They also reviewed the basic drilling database management system, which is compatible with the National Geological Database (NGD), in addition to the technical procedures for drilling samples.

It is noteworthy that the four-day visit of the Chinese delegation comes as part of the meetings with officials of the Saudi Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission and the Saudi Geological Survey to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the areas of peaceful use of atomic energy and nuclear technology. The SGS is also working within its ongoing alternative renewable geothermal energy exploration initiative projects.