[…] Kola Bay plays a crucial role as a high-capacity hub for transferring Russian Arctic oil from tankers to storage and onward to international markets. This includes oil linked to Rosneft’s Vostok Oil project, Gazprom Neft’s Novy Port in the Ob bay and the Prirazlomnoye field in the Barents Sea, and Lukoil’s Varandey project. Oil from Western Siberia and the Komi Republic is also transported to Murmansk by rail.
As with exports from the Baltic, shipments from Murmansk rely heavily on so-called shadow fleet tankers. In the north, operations are spread across multiple terminals along Kola Bay, involving both ship-to-ship transfers and shore-based loading.
In Norway, the increased movement of Arctic oil by shadow fleet vessels has raised alarm.
Former Foreign Minister and current Member of Parliament Ine Eriksen Søreide has highlighted concerns about the ageing fleet, pointing to a lack of insurance and generally poor technical standards. Läs artikel