SIMIC

THE UN's International Maritime Organisation has adopted a resolution to combat harmful maritime operations by focusing on the "shadow fleet" and their illegal practises, Reuters reports.

Thousands of ageing oil tankers make up a sizable portion of a parallel fleet of ships that transport oil, notably for Russia, which is subject to sanctions from the West and the G7, which sets a US$60 ceiling on Moscow's oil exports and imposes fines on ships that exceed that amount.



But the IMO delegation from Iran expressed concern that this demonstrated a "clear deviation" from the IMO's mandate and sought changes to the resolution.



As informed, the resolution, passed at the London-based IMO governing assembly session, required flag states, who are responsible for ship registration, to "adhere to measures which lawfully prohibit or regulate" the transfer of goods at sea, or ship-to-ship (STS) activities.



Additionally, it demanded that ships update their STS transfer operation plans, particularly if they are transferring with another vessel in the middle of the ocean.



The resolution also suggested that port nations "should subject such ships to enhanced inspections" if they learn of any ships purposefully evading detection by, for example, turning off their tracking devices or hiding their true identities.