The smuggling scheme, how the embargo on Russian oil was broken in Albania

The cases of blocking ships in the port of Durrës and the violation of the UN Security Council embargo have become a serious problem, which is repeated, this time from Albania.

The announcement of the police about the seizure of 22,500 tons of oil from a ship with a Libyan flag, but actually with a product originating from Russia, has highlighted data on how this trade is carried out.

According to the documents obtained by A2 CNN, the buyer of the oil is IBGAS AG, a company registered in the free zone of Porto Romano, and the oil is sold to Albanian companies. The authorities have launched investigations into the breach of the embargo by a group of companies that have taken over the distribution of Russian oil in the Mediterranean and have created and falsified certificates of origin in the territorial waters of Greece.

The ship “Grace Felix”, which was blocked by the captain of the port of Durrës on Sunday afternoon, apparently used the same scheme. From the tracking carried out by the authorities, it appears that this ship was delivered by the FIDAN vessel, which was loaded on January 20 in the port of Novorossiysk, Russia.

According to satellite data, this ship has started the journey and arrived in the Gulf of Lakonikos, Greece, where it delivered Russian oil to the ship “Grace Felix”, which was blocked in Albania.

The group of these companies, with the help of shipping agents engaged in ship-to-ship operations in the territorial waters of Greece, are provided with forged and unauthorized certificates of origin from the Greek state. They are transferring their origin from Russia to other countries in violation of the sanctions on hydrocarbon products. Albania has also joined these sanctions.