Spain sends a rescue vessel to a sanctioned tanker with a broken engine

Spain has sent a rescue vessel to an oil tanker that has been sanctioned for transporting Russian oil. This was reported by the agency Reuters with reference to the Spanish merchant marine.

The oil tanker, which is under European Union sanctions for transporting Russian oil, was escorted to the port of Tangier-Med in Morocco by a Spanish rescue ship.

The Mozambican-flagged Chariot Tide tanker, which was known as the Marabella Sun until November, has been on the sanctions list since November 2024 for helping Russia export oil "using irregular and high-risk shipping methods." It is also under UK sanctions, according to the British government.

The Merchant Marine did not explain why the Chariot Tide was not seized, and the Spanish Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.

The Chariot Tide's engine broke down on January 22, and the tanker drifted in international waters 50 km south of Adra in the province of Almeria, the merchant navy said in an email. It added that the vessel had entered the Spanish search and rescue zone.

The sanctioned tanker was accompanied to Morocco by the offshore rescue vessel Clara Campoamor. The port administration did not respond to a request for comment.

Reuters writes that there are currently between 1,200 and 1,600 shadow fleet tankers. They help Russia and other countries such as Venezuela and Iran avoid Western sanctions and sell their oil to countries such as China and India. The vessels are often old, their ownership is not transparent, and they sail without the higher level of insurance coverage that is required by international standards for major oil companies and many ports.

• January 22, the French Navy climbed aboard an oil tanker sailing from Russia and belonging to the "shadow fleet".
• On January 23, Bloomberg wrote that the Progress tanker, which is under sanctions for its role in transporting Russian oil, is likely to be destroyed, faced with problems off the coast of Algeria and drifting in the Mediterranean.