Tanker carrying million barrels of oil suffers explosion after calling at Russian port – Bloomberg

An explosion has occurred on the Vilamoura, a tanker loaded with a million barrels of oil, off the coast of Libya.

Source: Bloomberg

Details: The explosion caused the ship's engine room to flood. The cause of the incident is still unknown.

Since April this year, the tanker has called at Russian oil ports, including Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk, to load Kazakh oil. The blast was one of a series of similar incidents involving vessels that had previously visited Russian ports.

The company that owns the vessel said the explosion did not cause any environmental pollution, and the tanker's crew is safe.

Vanguard Tech, a maritime risk consultancy company, says that since the beginning of the year, four other vessels that had previously called at Russian ports have also suffered explosions.

Background:

• Russia is making another bid to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports after US sanctions halted its efforts last year.
• On 25 June, Bloomberg reported that a US-sanctioned tanker was approaching a Russian LNG export terminal in the Arctic, with an estimated arrival date of 26 June. This could trigger new restrictions from the West.
• Russia has been illegally transshipping oil in the open seas near Greece, using uninsured tankers and evading sanctions.

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