Albania detains tanker for alleged transportation of Russian diesel

Albanian police detained the Liberia-flagged tanker Grace Felix on Monday for suspected Russian diesel transportation.

PHOTO: The Liberia-flagged tanker Grace Felix was arrested for suspected transportation of Russian diesel. Albanian police

Correction: The Grace Felix did not depart from Azerbaijan, as reported by Albanian police. It departed from Gibraltar on 28 February and sailed to a location off Kalamata where it allegedly received oil through an STS transfer between 10-12 February, before sailing to arrive in Durres on 14 February, according to vessel tracking.

The Grace Felix is suspected of carrying 22,500 mt of Russian diesel. The arrest was conducted after the police received an intelligence report of a tanker smuggling large quantities of oil into Albania's Durres port.

According to an initial investigation, the Grace Felix was transporting the diesel with forged documents. Albanian police further claims that the vessel loaded diesel through a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer from another tanker off the Port of Kalamata in Greece, which has been a hub for dark STS transfers of Russian crude and products moving out of the Black Sea.

The authorities have detained the vessel for reasonable suspicions that the diesel originated from Russia. EU members, and Albania, have imposed sanctions on Russian crude and refined product imports.

Last week, the Spanish maritime authority denied entry into Spain’s Tarragona port to the Singapore-flagged tanker Maersk Magellan, as it was transporting diesel sourced from a Russian ship.

By Nithin Chandran

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