Russian oil tankers begin avoiding Swedish waters as country boards vessels at sea, Bloomberg says

Tankers transporting Russian oil through the Baltic Sea have begun avoiding Sweden's territorial waters after Swedish authorities started boarding vessels at sea to inspect documentation.

Source: Bloomberg

Details: Vessel-tracking data collected by Bloomberg show that since 7 April, 13 out of 22 sanctioned tankers on this route have sailed south of the Bornholm island in Denmark instead of taking the more usual northern route closer to Sweden that they had previously used.

This indicates a clear shift in routing, as tankers suspected of belonging to the fleet transporting Russian oil appear to be adjusting their course to avoid stricter enforcement by Sweden.

These findings, which correspond with conclusions from a recent report by Swedish broadcaster TV4, provide further evidence that tighter monitoring of Russia's so-called shadow fleet is forcing vessels to take new, potentially longer routes with higher fuel costs.

These vessels, which are often poorly maintained, inadequately insured and opaquely flagged, are considered one of the key mechanisms enabling Russia to continue exporting oil to finance its war against Ukraine.

The route change in the Baltic Sea followed incidents in March, when the Swedish Coast Guard boarded the vessels Sea Owl 1 and Caffa on suspicion that they were sailing under false flags.

Officials also boarded the Flora 1, which was suspected of having caused an oil spill in early April. The suspicion was not confirmed, and the vessel was released.

Background: In March, tankers linked to Russia also began avoiding the English Channel after the UK government threatened to seize them, with some vessels rerouting north of Scotland to avoid interception.

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