RUSSIAN OIL TANKERS GO DARK TO AVOID CAPTURE; BOUND FOR OFFSHORE MALTA ANCHORAGE AND OFFLOADING ?

Maritime information companies are reporting that the crews on Russian oil tankers are all disabling onboard tracking devices, making their location and route data. Given the global quest to seize or disable Russian assets abroad, especially those owned by the Oligarchs, this action, which is being widely reported by a number of sources, can have significance for the possible destination of these vessels. This is due to the black market in sales of Russian oil, which has apparently grown exponentially since the invasion of Ukraine.

When the Trump-era Secretary of Defense met with Malta's Prime Minister a while back, one of the items on his wish list was American monitoring of Europe's Dirty Little Secret, Hurd's Bank, international waters just offshore from Malta, where the world's dirty oil transfers furtively occur, in a Black Hole free from international sanctions. Malta's willful blindness about the activities that occur in Hurd's Bank, especially regarding  nocturnal visits to that area by Maltese vessels picking up "conflict oil" or sanctioned petroleum products, is part and parcel of the country's rampant corruption regarding energy.

Prior to their disabling locater and tracking devices, some tankers bearing Russian petroleum products were headed toward's Hurd's Bank, and it is suspected that certain of Malta's organized crime elements, who have a long history of illegally relabeling petroleum products for resale, are involved. The question is, will such activities originating in Malta come under international scrutiny, and are they being directed by powerful business forces linked to Malta's Ruling (and exceedingly corrupt) Labour Party, whose connections to Russian oligarchs run deep.

We are continuing to investigate the actions of these "fugitive" Russian tankers, and who has the temerity to launder their cargoes. Stay tuned.