Several Norwegian environmental organizations have registered a petition with EU government agencies about the dangers of a shadow fleet in Norwegian territorial waters.
The authors note that recently in the Arctic, the Russians have increasingly used old ships to secretly sell oil and liquefied natural gas. Tankers suffer from metal fatigue, hull corrosion and structural damage due to long-term operation. and in the past 12 months, more than 90 such vessels have passed the coast of Norway.
Many of the ships are up to 27 years old, and their structural damage can lead to the leakage of tens of thousands of tons of oil and liquefied natural gas. This leads to an increase in oil and petroleum product leaks in Arctic waters. According to Norwegian researchers, the number of such accidents has increased by 20%.
Activists are demanding a stronger fight against the passage of such tankers, including possible detention of the ships.
