Treasury Department’s hunt for Russian oil sanction violators on the seas is intensifying
A Russian-chartered oil tanker in the sea off Morocco in an area identified by maritime technology company Windward as a hub for smuggling oil.
Europa Press | Getty Images
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced three vessels and shipping companies being sanctioned for violating the Russian oil sanctions on Thursday, only a few days after Treasury began a separate, larger probe of approximately 30 ship management companies covering 100 vessels suspected of violating a price cap on Russian oil.
“Shipping companies and vessels participating in the Russian oil trade while using Price Cap Coalition service providers should fully understand that we will hold them accountable for compliance,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo in a statement on Thursday. “We are committed to maintaining market stability in spite of Russia’s war against Ukraine, while cutting into the profits the Kremlin is using to fund its illegal war and remaining unyielding in our pursuit of those facilitating evasion of the price cap.”
But as the Treasury seeks to cut off the Kremlin’s access to oil profits, its hunt for crude tankers and shippers violating OFAC guidelines is revealing complexities in its own guidelines and a murky marine industry.
The shipping entities identified on Thursday were United Arab Emirates-based. The vessels were Kazan Shipping Incorporated’s Kazan, Progress Shipping Company Limited’s Ligovsky Prospect, and Gallion Navigation Incorporated’s NS Century. But while those ships are now UAE-based, Matthew Wright, lead analyst of freight at marine intelligence firm Kpler, tells CNBC the location of where the company is based may be different from the location of the beneficial owner. In this case, Wright says the beneficial owner is likely still Russian-based.
“Based on the history of these fleets, these vessels were all owned and operated by Sovcomflot,” Wright said. “Management of all the Sovcomflot ships was transferred to Sun Ship Management in March/April 2022 when their offices in Europe were closed. Those three companies are now managed by a new manager called Oil Tankers SCF Management but it’s just another name. Ownership hasn’t changed since 2006. They’re not part of either the dark or grey fleet really as I consider them still Russian-owned.”
30 ship owners targeted in new Treasury probe
This is just one example of the murkiness within the Russian oil trade. The probe against 30 shipowners begun earlier this week reveals how identifying and finding proof of vessels traversing the oceans with sanctioned oil is not as straightforward as suggested by initial headlines covering the Treasury allegations. These companies received warning letters from the government about activity deemed suspicious and requests for documentation. There are grey areas in the U.S. government’s Russian oil guidelines, though the efforts can ultimately lead maritime investigators to the truth.
In the U.S. Treasury’s “Preliminary Guidance on Implementation of a Maritime Services Policy and Related Price Exception for Seaborne Russian Oil,” ship owners are under a Tier 2 category. According to the Treasury, this group within the maritime industry are “actors who are sometimes able to request and receive price information from their customers in the ordinary course of business.”
If a ship owner is unable to obtain such pricing information, according to the Treasury’s guidelines, the Tier 2 actors (ship owners) need to request “customer attestations” where their charter customers pledge in a document they will not purchase seaborn Russian oil above the price cap.
This document could provide a “safe harbor” for ship owners who are relying on that customer’s “attestation” to comply with sanctions. This safe harbor is also extended to the ship insurance companies.
“Ship owners rely on the charterer to provide ample proof that the Russian oil on board the vessel has been sold below the price cap,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “The sanctions can easily be circumvented if a dishonest charterer presents documents that falsify the true cost of the oil.”
Lipow said one clue to suspicious paperwork is a price of oil that is well below the market, selling Russian crude oil in Asia today at $50 per barrel when Brent is trading at $80.
“That is a red flag,” Lipow said.
Based on the safe harbor, if the ship owner or management company can be absolved of wrongdoing, the documents can still lead Treasury to the charterer.
The U.S. Treasury told CNBC it does not comment on current investigations.
Tracking Russian oil
A breakout of the Russian oil trade by Kpler shows around 30% of Russian exports from Western ports are still using commercial shipping with beneficial ownership within the European Union.
Wright said this “dark fleet” is comprised of vessels typically 20 years and older which have loaded or predominantly loaded Venezuelan or Iranian cargoes in the last few years.
“There is often some evidence that they have been disguising their activities by turning off their AIS, but not in all cases,” said Wright, referring to the automatic identification system used by marine vessels to track location. “Ownership is often opaque and the operator does not engage in standard commercial shipping outside of operating these vessels.”
There are also “grey fleet” vessels sold since the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the aim of transporting Russian exports and avoiding sanctions. These vessels, according to Wright, have had EU ownership.
“Most vessels have been sold by owners based in Europe to owners who were not previously active in the tanker market,” he said. “The owners are based mainly in Hong Kong, China, India, and the UAE.”
The price cap rules state that exports of Russian crude or refined products on EU-owned, insured, or serviced tonnage must be below the relevant price cap.
Since July, Wright says most exports from Russia are assumed to be above the caps, yet a large number of ships from within the EU continue to trade. This is because of the way Russian crude is traded.
“It is very likely vessels loading Russian cargoes that are EU-owned will have documentation showing a crude trade below the price cap, even if the cargo was actually traded above the price cap,” Wright said. “This is because a charterer or middleman will have traded it at a price that can be shown to the owner as part of a wider trade with the final buyer. The (vessel) owner is unlikely to have any evidence to the contrary.”
Vessel owners do not produce these documents, he said, but are provided with these documents by the charterer.
“The vessel owners are merely the custodians of information provided to them,” Wright said.
Beks Shipmanagement & Trading confirmed to CNBC it is among the companies that received warning letters from the Treasury this week and is sending documents to the government. The company had been identified in earlier press reports, though Treasury declined to specify companies to receive letters.
In an email to CNBC, the company rejected the Treasury’s allegations. “Despite the fact that the U.S. Treasury Department requested voyage details from 30 different ship management including 100 vessels, it is an obvious bad faith and reputation damaging purpose that only our management company was mentioned in the news recently circulated in the media,” a Beks spokesperson wrote.
The company, based in Turkey, announced in October the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite connectivity system across its fleet of 40 bulkers and tankers for enhanced vessel tracking.
“Our vessels are traded worldwide with their tracking system always switched to the on position. We employ our vessels by abiding (by) all international laws and regulations without breaching any sanction regime,” the company wrote in the email.
Beks said it has been conducting due diligence procedures on all of its voyages as well as carrying out the necessary sanction checks with its London-based lawyers.
According to Kpler, Beks Shipmanagement’s fleet had numerous tanker port calls to Russia since the start of sanctions on February 24, 2022. One example is the oil products tanker Bek Aqua.
Kpler was able to track the travel of the tanker using the tanker’s satellite beacons through the AIS short-range coastal tracking system currently used on ships.
The tanker Beks Aqua arrived at the Russian Port of Nakhodka on Oct 26 and was loaded with either diesel or Naptha on November 1. The vessel then arrived at the Port of Singapore on November 10 and departed empty on November 14.
But following the satellite data doesn’t allow for understanding of contract prices.
“While we can track the vessel’s journey from Russia to Singapore, unless we have the sales contract, we do not know the price the oil product was purchased for,” Lipow said. “The only fact we have is companies like Beks Shipping are employed to move Russian oil. It is possible that someone filed false paperwork with the shipowner. This is why tracking the Russian oil sanctions is not straightforward,” he said.
Beks Shipmanagement said the requested voyage details will be provided to the U.S. Treasury with full transparency.
Renewables and nuclear provided 40.9% of the world’s power generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s, according to a new global energy think tank Ember report.
Renewables added a record 858 TWh in 2024, 49% more than the previous high in 2022. Solar was the largest contributor for the third year running, adding 474 TWh to reach a share of 6.9%. Solar was the fastest-growing power source (+29%) for the 20th year in a row.
Solar has doubled in just three years, providing more than 2,000 TWh of electricity in 2024. Wind generation also grew to 8.1% of global electricity, while hydro – the single largest renewable source – remained steady at 14% of global electricity.
“Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition,” said Phil MacDonald, Ember’s managing director. “Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for electricity.”
Ember’s sixth annual Global Electricity Review, published today, provides the first comprehensive overview of the global power system in 2024 based on country-level data. It’s published alongside the world’s first open dataset on electricity generation in 2024, covering 88 countries that account for 93% of global electricity demand, as well as historical data for 215 countries.
What drove the rising power demand
The analysis finds that fossil fuels also saw a small 1.4% increase in 2024 due to surging electricity demand, pushing global power sector emissions up 1.6% to an all-time high.
Heatwaves were the main driver of the rise in fossil generation, accounting for almost a fifth (+0.7%) of the increase in global electricity demand in 2024 (+4.0%), mainly through additional use of cooling. Without these temperature effects, fossil fuel generation would have risen by only 0.2%, as clean electricity generation met 96% of the demand growth not caused by hotter temperatures.
“Amid the noise, it’s essential to focus on the real signal,” continued MacDonald. “Hotter weather drove the fossil generation increase in 2024, but we’re very unlikely to see a similar jump in 2025.”
Aside from weather effects, the increasing use of electricity for AI, data centers, EVs, and heat pumps is already contributing to global demand growth. Combined, the growing use of these technologies accounted for a 0.7% increase in global electricity demand in 2024, double what they contributed five years ago.
Clean power will grow faster than demand
Ember’s report shows that clean generation growth is set to outpace faster-rising demand in the coming years, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil fuel generation. The current expected growth in clean generation would be sufficient to meet a demand increase of 4.1% per year to 2030, which is above expectations for demand growth.
“The world is watching how technologies like AI and EVs will drive electricity demand,” said MacDonald. “It’s clear that booming solar and wind are comfortably set to deliver, and those expecting fossil fuel generation to keep rising will be disappointed.”
Beyond emerging technologies, the growth trajectories of the world’s largest emerging economies will play a crucial role in defining the global outlook. More than half of the increase in solar generation in 2024 was in China, with its clean generation growth meeting 81% of its demand increase in 2024. India’s solar capacity additions in 2024 doubled compared to 2023. These two countries are at the forefront of the drive to clean power and will help tip the balance toward a decline in fossil generation at a global level.
Professor Xunpeng Shi, president of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS), said: “The future of the global power system is being shaped in Asia, with China and India at the heart of the energy transition. Their increasing reliance on renewables to power demand growth marks a shift that will redefine the global power sector and accelerate the decline of fossil fuels.”
Read more: Made-in-America solar just got a big win in Louisiana
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The next-gen LEAF is almost here, and it’s looking better than ever. This isn’t the electric hatch you are used to seeing. Nissan’s new LEAF EV has more range, a fresh crossover design, and yes, it can finally charge up at Tesla Superchargers with an NACS port. With the official reveal just around the corner, someone already spotted the new LEAF at a Tesla charger in Canada.
Nissan is launching the new LEAF in the US and Canada
A little over a week ago, we finally got our first look at the third-generation LEAF. Nissan’s iconic electric hatch has grown into a “sleek and spacious family-friendly crossover.”
The US and Canada will be the first to see the reimagined LEAF later this year. It will join the Ariya in Nissan’s North American EV lineup as it looks to spark growth in one of its most important markets.
Based on the CMF-EV platform, the same one underpinning the Ariya, Nissan promises the new LEAF will have “significant range improvements.” Although no other details were revealed, Nissan’s vehicle programs chief, Francois Bailly, told TopGear.com that it’s expected to have WLTP driving range of up to 373 miles (600 km).
It will likely be lower on the EPA scale, but anything even close to 300 miles would be a major improvement over the current 212 EPA-estimated miles offered on the 2025 LEAF SV Plus.
The next-gen LEAF will also be Nissan’s first EV to feature an integrated NACS charging port. With its official debut later this year, the new model is out for testing and was just caught testing at a Tesla Supercharger in Canada.
If you didn’t know what vehicle it is, the LEAF is hardly recognizable. The new image from KindelAuto gives us a closer look at the new crossover design. It almost looks like a Tesla sitting in front of the charger.
The new LEAF is one of 10 new and refreshed Nissan vehicles set to launch in the US and Canada. It will arrive later this year, followed by the fourth-gen Rogue in 2026, which will be available as a PHEV for the first time.
Nissan also plans to build a new “adventure-focused SUV” at its Canton, Mississippi, plant in late 2027. The teaser shows what appears to be a rugged electric Xterra. We’ll have to wait for more details on that one.
Nissan will reveal additional info about the upcoming LEAF mid-year. Check back soon for more updates.
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The Port of Barcelona launched the Ecocat Tres, a highly efficient, all-electric commuter ferry powered by Molabo’s ARIES i50 electric motors.
Ecocat Tres is the latest zero-emission ferry in Bus Nàutic’s growing electric fleet, providing clean transportation between the Drassanes and Llevant wharves. In just its first three months, the Bus Nàutic service logged over 125,000 sustainable trips. Operated by ALSA and backed by the Port of Barcelona, the initiative offers locals and visitors an eco-friendly way to travel, cutting down on road congestion and air pollution in the bustling city.
Built by Spanish shipbuilder Metaltec Naval, Ecocat Tres is a 15-meter aluminum catamaran that carries up to 84 passengers. It even includes a rooftop deck, offering extra seating and a breezy ride across the port. The ferry runs every 15 to 30 minutes for at least 12 hours each day, with the entire trip taking about 10 minutes.
Under the deck are two powerful 48V Molabo ARIES i50 motors, enabling the electric ferry to hit a top speed of 12 knots. Cruising at its regular operational speed of 5 knots, Ecocat Tres can run efficiently for up to 21 hours on a single charge, making it highly reliable for daily commuters.
Molabo’s motors have a low-voltage setup, which makes them safer to maintain compared to traditional high-voltage electric systems. Passengers also enjoy a smoother, quieter ride thanks to significantly reduced noise and vibrations onboard. Azimut Marine supplied the full propulsion and energy system, which includes two ARIES 50 kW electric drives, 36 batteries providing a total of 216 kWh, fast chargers, and integrated solar panels. Impressively, solar power alone can cover up to 40% of the ferry’s energy needs.
Ecocat Tres will cut around 90 tons of CO2 emissions each year, making a positive impact on Barcelona’s ambitious climate goals.
Port of Barcelona president José Antonio Carbonell said, “This 100% electric, zero-emission passenger ferry is helping us reshape mobility in the port and accelerate the decarbonization of our operations.”
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