Three Greek oil tankers are going on detours of thousands of miles to deliver crude from
Russia’s Baltic Sea to customers in Asia.
The tankers Agios
Gerasimos, King Philippos and Nissos Antimilos are all sailing around Africa,
likely en route for India, tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. A fourth,
the Amades may be following in their wake.
With Russia’s flagship
Urals oil prices below $60 a barrel at the point of export, there’s no rule
against western tankers moving Russian oil. It’s rare, however, to see the
vessels not taking the usual route — through
Egypt’s Suez Canal and then the Red Sea.
The reasons for unusually long voyages are not
known but many shipowners, including European ones, have avoided the Red Sea because of the
threat of Houthi attacks on merchant
vessels.