Tag: hurd’s bank
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At least two Russian Shadow Fleet tankers anchor in Hurd’s Bank: other ships with suspicious historical activity
At least two Russian shadow fleet tankers have anchored in Hurd’s Bank in what seems to be regular operations of illegal oil trading in the area. The tankers are the Fair Breeze and the Uluc Ka (featured photo by Vessel Finder) which both have been sanctioned. Other ships currently anchored in Hurd’s Bank also have…
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Russian Shadow Fleet still using Hurd’s Bank despite attack on the Arctic Metagaz
The Russian shadow fleet tanker, Fair Breeze (IMO: 9419723) has logged that it is travelling to Malta, Hurd’s Bank. On the other side of Malta, and outside its waters, another Russian shadow fleet tanker, the Mirador, is seen travelling to Egypt. Both tankers are sanctioned under the EU. Hurd’s Bank is an area highly active in…
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Prime Minister warned about tankers-war risk by local and foreign officials: but still no security policy
The Maltese government has been aware about security risks with regard to tankers pertaining to the Russian Shadow Fleet as back as early last year. The government also held several security meetings with regard to potential security actions to take following Israel’s attack on a vessel in Hurd’s Bank and several options were considered including…
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Ukraine drones Russian LNG-tanker outside Maltese waters
The sanctioned Russian LNG-tanker, Arctic Metagaz, was destroyed with a drone attack outside Hurd’s Bank in the eastern direction according to its latest position on Vessel Finder. This is not the first time that Russian-linked vessels travelling in the maritime neighbourhood were targeted. The incident happened around 300KM off the Maltese coast. Although Ukraine is…
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Oil tanker involved in trafficking Russian oil sails to Russia after anchoring in Hurd’s Bank
The Palau-flagged oil-tanker Fidan seems to have done a textbook oil-sale operation at Hurd’s Bank after travelling from the east specifically to the area. The ship is now en route to the Russian oil port of Primorsk with Hurd’s Bank being its last destination. The ship, which was previously under a Turkish flag, was also…
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Sanctioned Russian oil-tanker ST George anchors in Hurd’s Bank
The Liberian-flagged and sanctioned oil tanker ST George (IMO: 9412775) has anchored in Hurd’s Bank – a common practice conducted by oil tankers selling oil in the area. Ships often anchor at Hurd’s Bank in periods of bad weather but Russia has been using Hurd’s Bank as an oil supply and trading hub. The ship…
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Malta’s contribution to the Russian Shadow-Fleet and the Russian oil trade
When there was the report of the large oil sale to Nigeria from Maltese territory, it was obvious that in Malta there was a large oil trader that had the capacity to trade massive volumes of oil in a short space of time. I also had the lingering suspicion that Malta was facilitating the Russian…
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Alkagesta is using Raiffeisen Bank
An online press outlet has collected all the articles and documents published about Alkagaesta, the big oil trader in Malta that is accused of selling contraband Libyan oil in Malta and Hurd’s Bank. The news article with the documents can be found here. Alkagesta denies these accusations. The batch of documents can be found here.…
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China’s oil exports to Malta are likely traded in Hurd’s Bank
Following further confirmations and checks by The Maltese Herald, we can confirm that most likely, China’s oil exports to Malta are ship-to-ship transfers – mostly conducted in Hurd’s Bank. This would also mean that China is using Malta as a location for highly irregular and undocumented oil trading. The customs office and the National Statistics…
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Editorial: Foreign interference in Malta’s sea passageways is unacceptable
As an independent news outlet that covers both local and international news on an equal basis, we were well positioned to cover the story of the stranded, Freedom Flotilla vessel, “Conscience”. We were in fact, the first to verify among the press, the name and location of the ship, the story of the Israeli plane,…
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US Naval intelligence monitoring mission of Hurd’s Bank to close down: US troops withdraw from Deir Ezzor
A US Naval intelligence monitoring mission of Hurd’s Bank in Malta is to close down as part of US defence cuts in the Mediterranean. Meanwhile US forces in Deir Ez-Zor in north-east Syria have pulled-put and drove to Iraq. The US government is making cuts to its Mediterranean missions via both the Defence Department and…
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€2.25 billion oil sale to Nigeria from Hurd’s Bank registered in Malta went untaxed
The Maltese Herald can confirm that the €2,25 billion oil sale made in Hurd’s Bank to Nigeria via ship-to-ship transfer went untaxed by the Maltese authorities. The sale was registered by Nigerian authorities as having taking place in Malta, but the Maltese authorities have no record of this sale and no tax records about it.…
