The Elephant was involved in an oil product trade linked to a former Russian-flagged vessel
The investigation into the Elephant led to a Maersk Product Tanker vessel being barred from unloading at Tarragona, Spain.Photo: Autoritat Portuària de Tarragona/CC BY-SA 4.0
15 February 2023 13:58 GMT UPDATED 15
February 2023 16:01 GMT
By Paul Peachey in London
A Vietnamese-owned tanker has been detained in Spain, days
after the launch of a Russian sanctions probe following its ship-to-ship (STS)
transfer with a Maersk Product Tankers vessel.
The 108,900-dwt Elephant (built 2007) was detained at the
northern port of Ferrol on Tuesday, according to the database of the Paris MoU
on Port State Control.
The reasons for the detention were not clear but it followed
an investigation by the Spanish authorities into the STS transfer of vacuum
gasoil involving the Elephant and the 50,000-dwt Maersk Magellan (built 2010)
on 6 February.
The inquiry revealed that the cargo originated from a
tanker: the Seychelles-owned 46,200-dwt Nobel (built 1997) that had carried the
Russian flag until 1 July.
Popular STS area
Spain’s transport ministry concluded that the trade breached
the European Union sanctions regime and refused to allow the Maersk Magellan to
unload its cargo at the port of Tarragona three days later.
The STS took place in the Alboran Sea near the Mediterranean
gateway to the Atlantic.
The area has become popular for STS transfers of Russian oil
from aframax tankers to larger vessels for onward voyages to Asia.
The activity has been a source of irritation for the EU,
which has imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports but has limited ability to
target STS transfers outside of the territorial waters of its member states.
The Elephant headed north around the coast of Spain after
the STS and arrived at Ferrol on Saturday, according to Kpler tracking data. It
was listed as having been detained three days later by the Paris MoU.
The Elephant is owned by Hung Phat Maritime Trading, based
in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, according to the VesselsValue database.
Hung Phat is listed as owning three ships: the Elephant and
two MR tankers, all built between 2007 and 2009.
The port inspection regime of the 27-nation regime is
focused on environmental, safety and working conditions but additional
inspections can be ordered because of “cargo problems”, according to an MoU
note.
The secretariat and the port of Ferrol have been approached
for comment.
Maersk Tankers, which commercially manages the vessel on
behalf of Maersk Product Tankers, said it carried out checks on both the
Elephant and Nobel before deciding to go ahead with the trade.
“Maersk Tankers is currently in dialogue with relevant
parties and the vessel is meanwhile awaiting further detailed instructions from
charterers in relation to the discharge of its cargo,” the company said on
Tuesday.
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