Vernal Ship Details and Seafarer Feedback

On December 14, the Palau-flagged tanker 'Valente' (IMO: 9298272) was spotted moored alongside the vessel 'Liberty' around 11:10 SST, suspected to be facilitating a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer involving approximately one million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil. Nearby, the tugboats 'Hemingway 3200' (MMSI: 525900307) and 'Kt. Hang Tuah VI' (MMSI: 525300109) actively supported operations as the 'Valente' anchored at the coordinates 01° 10.09' N, 103° 19.73' E. This incident adds to the growing scrutiny around dark fleet operations in strategic maritime routes.

Oil spill containment booms have been strategically positioned around the tanker 'Liberty' as efforts to safely extract its cargo are in progress. This vessel was reported to have manipulated its location back in October, misleading digital tracking systems to suggest it was stationed off the coast of West Africa while it was, in fact, engaged in the collection of oil from Venezuela. Flying under the Cameroon flag, which is categorized as 'very high risk' by maritime authorities, the 'Liberty' exemplifies the growing trend of so-called dark fleet tankers. These vessels have proliferated as Moscow seeks means to evade Western sanctions, raising significant environmental concerns due to the opacity surrounding their ownership and insurance details. While industry databases fail to identify a beneficial owner for the 'Liberty,' Skyward Management Corp., based in Kazakhstan, is noted as the technical manager. Attempts to reach Skyward Management via their listed phone number met with no response, as the line reported to be locked.

On December 8, Indonesian rescue teams successfully refloated the tanker 'Liberty' in the Singapore Strait, just west of Batam. The vessel was loaded with nearly 1 million barrels of Venezuelan fuel oil when it experienced distress. Five tugboats were deployed to assist in relocating the ship from its stranded position. As of now, the 'Liberty' is stationary, indicating that it is currently undergoing assessments for necessary repairs. The incident is part of a troubling pattern in Southeast Asia, a vital hub for international tanker operations, which has witnessed a series of incidents involving the shadow fleet. Notably, the 26-year-old tanker 'Turba', also flying the Cameroon flag, lost power and drifted off the coast of Indonesia for several days in October. This follows other significant mishaps, including the explosion of the 'Pablo' in Malaysian waters in May and the grounding of the VLCC 'Young Yang' in 2022. In 2022 alone, there were at least eight incidents involving groundings, collisions, or near misses with tankers transporting sanctioned oil products, matching the count from the previous three years collectively. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tankers over 20 years old constituted only 1% of the global fleet, a figure that increased slightly to 3% before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. By mid-2025, projections indicate that these older vessels may account for as much as 11% of all tanker demand. Notably, the number of tankers operating in opaque markets reached a record high in the second quarter of the year, although a subsequent decline has been observed.