The insurance company servicing the Greek-owned vessel called Romeos, is called the West of England Mutual Shipowners Protection & Indemnity Association and is based in Luxemburg and the UK. The vessel is registered to be owned by a company called Multu Shipping Company.
The West of England Mutual Shipowners Protection & Indemnity Association has been flagged by Lloyd’s List as having serviced vessels involved in ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil in the Atlantic Sea. Some of the ships involved in these transfers were also purchased by a Chinese buyer.
Shippers involved in the industry of Russian oil have often been unapologetic saying they are still biding with the law. However, the practice remains legally nuanced and also very risky in all of its dimension, especially when considering material security risks. West of England has always asserted that it covers vessels which are legally compliant and that attestations provided to Russian sales, supposedly prove it was sold below the price-cap.
The shipping industry engaging with Russian oil remains one of the most controversial elements in the EU with Malta, Greece and Cyprus opposing an EU ban on services to Russian-linked vessels and vessels carrying Russian oil. The EU is being too weak and complacent about this issue and ultimately it is not even benefitting from the price-cap given as this is arbitraged by traders – if it is being applied at all.
The reality is that the EU has created a convoluted framework with remaining loopholes and the short-term opportunism of the Greek shipping industry is allowing the wide-distribution of Russian oil-cargo, effectively funneling income for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
It is unsurprising that EU member-states are ashamed to admit that they are importing Russian oil in the cover of ship-to-ship transfers.
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