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ISLAMABAD: Monitoring Desk – Financial Times and some other media outlets have reported that the boss of the world\u2019s largest publicly listed oil tanker operator has accused the UN maritime rule-setting body of \u201csleeping behind the wheel\u201d over the growing dark fleet of unregulated vessels, saying it is \u201conly a question of time\u201d before a significant disaster takes place.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Lars Barstad, chief executive of Frontline, also criticised European governments for failing to enforce rules meant to curtail trading in Russian oil, saying they were worried about forcing up energy prices.<\/p>\n The number of dark fleet vessels has grown to about a fifth of the world fleet after Russian-linked owners bought up hundreds of ageing ships to circumvent western countries\u2019 curbs on the country\u2019s oil trade.<\/p>\n The potential for disaster was illustrated in July when the Hafnia Nile, a tanker operated by Singapore-based Hafnia, collided with the Ceres I, a dark fleet vessel carrying Iranian oil, in waters off Malaysia. According to a subsequent US Treasury sanctions notice against the Ceres I\u2019s owners, at the time of the collision the vessel\u2019s radar system was broadcasting an inaccurate location \u2014 a common tactic for dark fleet ships trying to conceal their activities.<\/p>\n Dark fleet vessels, which carry oil from Iran and Venezuela as well as Russia, are generally the property of offshore companies whose ownership is unclear and often lack adequate insurance.<\/p>\n They are frequently registered under the flags of countries that do little to enforce rules about regular safety inspections.<\/p>\n Barstad said he was \u201cvery, very concerned\u201d about the growth of the dark fleet, which he said had incentivised a number of \u201clawbreaking operators\u201d to make an \u201cinsane amount of money\u201d. (Lars Barstad of Frontline insists it is \u2018only a question of time\u2019 before a significant maritime disaster takes place)<\/strong><\/p>\n He added that the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body, was doing too little to ensure enforcement of its safety and environmental rules. \u201cAll these vessels\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009are trading outside the IMO framework,\u201d Barstad said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have been sleeping behind the wheel now for quite some time in respect of tankers.\u201d There had been reports of other, unconfirmed incidents besides the Ceres I collision, Barstad added.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very surprised we\u2019ve not had more incidents like this,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s only a question of time until we get a big one.\u201d A vessel such as the Ceres I \u2014 which was carrying 2mn barrels of crude oil \u2014 could be split in two in a future incident, he said. \u201cThat would be in the environment a bigger problem,\u201d Barstad said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can happen any day \u2014 and then the biggest problem is that, if that happens, nobody will know who actually owns the ship or the cargo.\u201d Shipowners that complied with the regulations, such as Frontline, were facing disadvantages because so many others were operating with lower costs in unregulated dark fleets, Barstad added.<\/p>\n He said that reflected politicians\u2019 lack of willingness to enforce the sanctions. \u201cPoliticians have decided not to take the political risks,\u201d Barstad said, adding that he thought many feared higher energy prices if oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela were truly excluded from international markets.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Hafnia-Nile-Ceres-1.jpg\")
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