TWO RUSSIAN-CONTROLLED TANKERS THAT CRASHED AND SUNK IN BLACK SEA WERE INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS EVADERS

If you read the fine print, regarding the story of the two Tanzania-flagged tankers that crashed into each other, and sunk, with major loss of life, there was a hidden agenda : both vessels, under Russian control, had been smuggling petroleum products into Syria for years, in violation of international sanctions.

Apparently, these two vessels had both turned off their Automated Identification System (AIS), to evade detection, as their ultimate destination was not the listed one, Lebanon, but Syria. No wonder they crashed into one another, in bad weather.