Environmentalists in Portugal are expressing serious concern about the increasing number of shadow fleet voyages, which transport oil and liquefied natural gas from Russian ports. Up to a hundred people took part in a demonstration in the city of Porto, gathering near port facilities and unfurling posters reading «We will not allow the planet to be polluted,» «No to fossil fuels,» and «We are against bloody oil.»
The participants in the demonstration stated that recently the number of trips by shadow fleet tankers through the Atlantic Ocean and the territorial waters of Portugal has been increasing. Therefore, they are very concerned about this, since, as a rule, these ships do not meet technical and environmental standards and accidents often occur with them. This is accompanied by oil emissions.
Experts emphasize: old and worn-out «shadow fleet» tankers are dangerous not only because of fuel leaks. Their owners hide real information, and the vessels themselves often do not have insurance. This makes it practically impossible to bring them to justice and creates a threat of huge costs for European countries in the event of a large-scale accident.
According to their data, an increase in the number of emissions into the waters has already been recorded Portugal. Environmentalists say that tougher measures need to be taken against such ships, including strengthening sanctions policies and introducing the possibility of arresting ships.
