SIMIC

A US$2.2 billion fleet of oil tankers has been assembled to keep Russian crude and fuel exports flowing, reports Bloomberg.
Since sanctions came into effect on Russian refined fuels earlier this month, vessels hauling oil products across the Atlantic have posted a fivefold increase in their daily earnings.
Piecing together the exact size of the "shadow fleet" is impossible with ownership shrouded in secrecy. Commodity giant Trafigura estimated it could total 600 ships, of which 400 are crude haulers.
Privately, some shipowners put the figure slightly lower - between 10 - 12 per cent of the global tanker fleet. Whether they leave the international market or merely shy away from it, the result could be higher shipping costs for Russia's rivals.
"These ships will be dedicated to these shadow trades and de facto removed from the markets that we would find ourselves in," said Ardmore Shipping chief commercial officer Gernot Ruppelt.
VesselsValue, which tracks ship sales and purchases estimates that last year a little more than $850 million was spent on expanding the "dark fleet" of fuel tankers. In addition, almost $1.4 billion was invested in crude oil carrying ships.
London-based EA Gibson Shipbrokers has counted at least 38 fuel-hauling ships which are owned by Russian registered companies, but says the actual figure is likely to be higher as hard-to-track brass-plate offshore companies will own more vessels.
It has also counted more than 100 fuel tankers sold to countries outside of the G-7 or the European Union since the invasion of Ukraine.
"Whilst Russia does not explicitly control this many product carriers, given the large amount of older secondhand tankers sold since the invasion, it is possible that Russia can access sufficient vessels for this volume," said Richard Matthews, Gibson's head of research.