In the Indian port of Vadinar, a long fuel terminal is sandwiched between a colourful coral reef and a multitude of oil vessels.
From here, around 200 large vessels been shipping fuel to Europe and elsewhere since the sanctions against Russia’s energy exports came into force.
But the cargo on the tankers comes from a Russian-owned refinery called Nayara Energy, which allows Russia to sell oil regardless of the sanctions, and is dubbed the “European nightmare scenario”.
Now Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have revealed that the Danish tanker company Hafnia has transported Russian oil products with an estimated value of up to DKK 2 billion from the Russian refinery with Kremlin connections.
Hafnia, which calls itself the world’s largest tanker company, had the following tankers pass the oil quay in Vadinar between July and August: Hafnia Africa, Hafnia Australia, Hafnia Excellence, Hafnia Seine and Hafnia Shenzhen.
They have transported the products to countries such as Denmark, the UK, Tanzania and the Emirates, and in this way, the company has helped Russia get their oil products to Europe, despite the sanctions.
The vessels have carried more than 2.5 million barrels of Russian aviation fuel and diesel, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and MarineTraffic.
OVERVIEW
The map shows the routes of Hafnia’s five vessels
OVERVIEW
The map shows the routes of Hafnia’s five vessels
Since the oil products are refined in India, it is not illegal to import them to Europe, but the trade still helps to counteract the intent of the sanctions, according to researcher and sanctions expert Kim B. Olsen from the German Council on Foreign Relations. Olsen from the German Council on Foreign Relations.
He is an expert in Europe’s use of sanctions and has a career background as a foreign affairs analyst at the Danish Institute for International Studies with a focus on sanctions.
“It’s a bad scenario that the Russian state can establish a company in India to buy cheap Russian oil and sell it to Europe as Indian fuel and still reap some of the profits,” he says, adding:
“It exposes the limitations of sanctions. The EU and the US have gone to great lengths to try to get third countries like India to join our side and ensure that sanctions are not circumvented. But very few non-Western countries have been willing to contribute to that. So it’s a nightmare scenario, but also a nightmare that was foreseen,” he says.
One of the five Hafnia vessels that made the journey from the Russian refinery in India ended up in Copenhagen on 2 October.
It was Hafnia Africa that delivered almost 30 million litres of Russian aviation fuel to Prøvestenen near Amager, as Danwatch has previously revealed.
Apart from a brief telephone conversation in mid-December, Hafnia has not been contactable. Both Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have tried to contact them by phone, text message and email several times, but no one returns their calls.
When we contacted Hafnia’s reception in January to get in touch with the company’s press officer, we were transferred, but the call once again went to voicemail. Since then, it hasn’t been possible to get reception to connect us.
Despite the fact that Hafnia on their own website describes how transparency is particularly important to them, it is not possible to get a comment on their business with Nayara Energy.
Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet also wanted to know to whom Hafnia has supplied Russian aviation fuel in Copenhagen.
On their website, Hafnia also writes that they recognise the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that they have a special interest in working against corruption
Therefore, Hafnia will also not “facilitate payments intended to expedite or secure the performance of routine official acts by governments”.
However, the refinery in Vadinar was specifically established so that Russia can continue their routine oil exports to Europe, Kim B. Olsen assesses. Among other things, he refers to a statement from the state-owned Russian bank VTB Bank, where they themselves emphasise that Nayara Energy’s ownership structure is designed to evade sanctions.
“Russia has stated this itself. It is part of their preparation to mitigate the negative effects of the sanctions. A structure is being created where oil can still be sold, where the revenue and the profits still flow back to Russia,” he says.
At the same time, he believes that transparency is important among companies that do business with companies like Nayara Energy.
“The conflict between Europe and Russia has resulted in costs for consumers. Increased inflation and high energy prices have affected the everyday lives of ordinary Europeans. It is only fair that consumers can question companies’ business practices, even if they are legal,” he says.
Although it is legal to buy aviation fuel from Nayara Energy, this is only possible because the Russians are exploiting a loophole in the sanctions that Europe cannot simply close.
Because almost half of Nayara Energy is owned by the Russian state through the oil company Rosneft and about 25 per cent by a private equity fund founded by a Russian billionaire and oligarch connected to Rosneft.
Since neither of them owns the majority stake in the company, it is technically not Russian.
American researcher Craig Kennedy, an expert on Russian oil and sanctions at Havard University’s Davis Center, says that the Vadinar refinery could become a problem for the West if action is not taken.
“Rosneft itself is sanctioned, so one might ask why the import of oil from the Vadinar refinery is not sanctioned. In practice, Rosneft has significant influence over the refinery, but on paper they only own 49 per cent. And according to EU regulations, this may allow the refinery to avoid being sanctioned like Rosneft”, he says and adds:
“It’s a challenge for the authorities. It’s a loophole that needs to be addressed. And while Vadinar’s European sales are currently small in overall Russian exports, this is a leak that could turn into a flood, and then it becomes a real problem.”
According to Kim B. Olsen, companies trading in such products therefore have a great responsibility to conduct a thorough risk assessment of those they trade with.
“While there is nothing legally wrong with the trade, it is an example of how companies become pawns in the geopolitical game. Sanctions and EU states have limited reach, and this is where the choices made by the companies become relevant,” he says.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, many companies withdrew from the Russian market, not because of sanctions, but for moral reasons.
This is precisely where companies become actors in the conflict when they choose to either continue or stop their trade with Russia, Kim B. Olsen points out.
“Even if it’s within the framework of what you can legally do, it doesn’t mean you’re exempt from criticism. You have to ask yourself: What do we as a company want to be a part of when our home country is in open conflict with Russia?”, he says.
Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet are still trying to get a comment from Hafnia. The first contact with the tanker company was in mid-December and the latest attempt to get a response was made on 10 January.
In addition, there is still no answer as to who bought 30 million litres of Russian aviation fuel, which was delivered by Hafnia Africa in Copenhagen on 2 October.
Since October, at least ten large oil tankers from Russia’s so-called dark fleet have been allowed to anchor in Danish waters off the port of Skagen.
According to international maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, they are part of a network that helps Russia make billions from the oil trade, bypassing EU sanctions.
Danwatch can reveal this based on data from MarineTraffic and Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
It may be both illegal and a circumvention of the sanctions against Russia that the vessels have docked in Denmark. And the ten vessels are just a random sample. Data from MarineTraffic and Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows that vessels from the dark fleet have docked at Skagen almost weekly since the sanctions came into force around the turn of the year.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence has analysed the ten vessels in Skagen and assesses that they are sailing without insurance, with hidden owners and with oil that has been traded far more expensive than what EU sanctions allow.
According to the World Bank, it is precisely these dark vessels that undermine the EU’s sanctions against Russia and have led to the current price of Russian crude oil averaging USD 80 per barrel, rather than the USD 60 price cap targeted by the sanctions.
The consequence of this is that Russia is making far more money for the treasury and thus the war in Ukraine, which was the reason the sanctions were imposed in the first place.
An example of this is the vessel Vela Rain, which sailed from the Russian oil port of Primorsk in the Baltic Sea on 16 October and arrived in Skagen on October. According to MarineTraffic, the huge oil vessel was loaded with up to 800,000 barrels of Russian oil, which has a value of almost half a billion Danish kroner.
Danwatch has attempted to contact the owner of Vela Rain, but they have not returned our request.
Michelle Bockmann, Chief Analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence, says that Denmark has a unique opportunity to control and detain oil vessels coming from Russia because they dock in Ålbæk Bay. The vessels do not dock in other European countries, she states.
“In ten minutes, I can make a list of oil vessels with no known insurance. So can the Danish authorities,” she says.
Many of the oil vessels sail with some form of insurance papers, but they are often “worth less than the paper they are written on”, says Michelle Bockmann.
“Many of the vessels fly the flags of countries like Gabon and Cook Islands. My cat could get insurance papers from those countries if it just presented some kind of insurance company to the maritime authorities in those countries. They don’t check anything,” she says.
Often, the insurance companies don’t even exist. And even though it is illegal, the vessels are still allowed to enter Denmark.
But in the future, Denmark may end up having to inspect these vessels – and on a much larger scale.
The Financial Times reports, based on anonymous sources in the EU, that Denmark has been selected to monitor oil vessels arriving from Russia. This is despite the fact that Denmark has so far not inspected the vessels at all, even though they have repeatedly been in Danish territorial waters.
When the oil tanker Canis Power suffered engine failure off the coast of Langeland in May, it quickly became clear that the vessel was part of Russia’s so-called dark fleet.
When the Danish Maritime Authority became aware of the Canis Power incident, they issued a request to have it inspected at the first opportunity by the countries in the Paris MoU, which is an international agreement on port controls in Europe, among other places.
But there is no difference between Canis Power and the other ten vessels that have docked at Skagen, says Michelle Bockmann.
“If they believe that Canis Power is suspicious due to safety risks, they should make the same assumption for the other ten vessels,” she says.
When the dark vessels dock in Ålbæk Bay, they are not inspected by Danish authorities. It is not customary to do this at anchorages unless there is a concrete suspicion against a vessel.
However, in the ten cases where Lloyd’s List Intelligence assesses that the vessels at Skagen have sailed without insurance and with sanctioned cargo, Denmark should have inspected them anyway. This is according to Philip Max Cossen, associate professor of Maritime Law at Svendborg International Maritime Academy.
“It’s within the realm of port state control. It’s clear grounds. There is a strong suspicion that these vessels do not comply with their obligations and do not have the documentation in place,” he says.
The oil vessels sail from the western Russian oil ports – mainly Primorsk – to Ålbæk Bay near Skagen, before continuing on to countries such as India with the oil.
Philip Max Cossen points out that, by law, the Danish authorities should react to the vessels if they do not have the convention-bound and internationally recognised CLC insurance.
“It’s a clear ground for detention if they don’t have a CLC certificate,” he says.
And if the oil cargo is found to be sanctioned, the oil must be confiscated, he says.
Danwatch is working to get a comment from the Danish Maritime Authority. This was not possible before publication.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, many of the shady oil vessels sail for shipping companies with only that one vessel affiliated, and if you take a closer look at the owners of the vessels, the address is often somewhere in India or the Middle East, where there is no shipping company present at all, says Michelle Bockmann.
“They only exist on paper. Often they don’t even have an email address associated with their company. Therefore, it’s hard to hold them accountable if an accident happens,” she says.
There have already been several accidents with dark vessels. Most recently, it was the vessel Pablo, a large oil tanker that exploded off the coast of Malaysia in May.
There was no cargo on board and therefore no oil spillage, but several crew members died during the accident on the old vessel.
It later turned out that the vessel’s insurance company didn’t exist either, which is why Pablo still remains in the same place where the explosion took place.
“The Pablo was sailing under the flag of Gabon, like many of the vessels in Denmark. No company will clean up after the accident because there is no one to pay for the cleanup,” says Michelle Bockmann.
However, it’s easy to get to the bottom of whether insurance companies even exist, says Michelle Bockmann.
When he vessels present their insurance documents – the so-called blue cards – in some cases it can be as simple as Googling the name of the insurance company to reveal that they don’t exist, she says.
According to the Financial Times, it has not yet been confirmed that Denmark will inspect all oil vessels arriving from Russia. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that it would be against international law if the vessels were stopped in international waters on their way through Denmark.
He was also asked whether Russia will use warships to escort oil exports through Denmark. Dmitri Peskov did not want to comment on this.
Off the coast of Syria and near Norway’s border in the Arctic sail three frigates that are of utmost importance to Russia’s maritime power.
The frigates belong to the Admiral Gorshkov class, which are renowned and highly advanced ships in the Russian Navy. Equipped with Russia’s new Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, they have the capability to strike targets up to 1,000 kilometers away.
Based on official documents that Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have obtained, we can now reveal that these frigates are built using products from the Danish Rockwool Group.
For the past months Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have covered how large parts of the Russian Navy is insulated with Rockwool. These three frigates represent the most significant, prestigious, and crucial Russian project that is known to have used Rockwool thus far.
According to military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen from the Danish Defense Academy, the frigates play a vital role in Putin’s military strategy.
“They hold immense importance for Russia’s navy as they enable operations over great distances. The frigates possess substantial firepower, allowing them to engage other ships and even carry out land bombardments,” he explains.
Rockwool itself does not directly sell its products to end customers in the Russian market but relies on a network of distributors. Particularly one of these officially certified partners, a company called Marine Complex Systems LLC (“MKS”), is responsible for a significant portion of the deliveries of Rockwool to the Russian Navy, including those used for the frigates.
MKS, a Russian company with more than 150 employees, specializes in work on military ships for the Russian Ministry of Defense. It has military approval and is certified by the FSB to handle state secrets. And since at least 2013 it has been a regular distributor for Rockwool, supplying the Russian Navy with Rockwool products worth at least 100 million rubles.
For the frigates, the first deal occurred in October 2013, when MKS agreed to supply more than 3,000 square meters of Rockwool insulation to the Severnaya Verf shipyard. According to the documents, this stone wool insulation was specifically intended for the lead ship of the series, “Admiral Gorshkov.”
In August 2015, a year after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, MKS once again provided Rockwool insulation to Severnaya Verf. This involved two contracts, totaling 19,200 square meters of insulation for the subsequent ships in the series, namely “Admiral Kasatonov” and “Admiral Golovko.”
Overall, the three Rockwool contracts had a value of more than 12.1 million rubles, equivalent to over 1.5 million Danish kroner at the time.
Despite numerous inquiries from Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet, Rockwool has declined to be interviewed about how their materials ended up in the three frigates. Instead, we have sent a number of written questions to Rockwool’s Danish headquarters concerning the transactions and the cooperation with the distributor MKS.
However, Rockwool Group’s head of communications, Michael Zarin, chose to ignore these questions and instead provided a general statement about Rockwool’s continuing presence in Russia, which he had also previously sent us. He further writes:
“Through distributors, our products are widely available on the Russian market, as is the case in many other markets. Neither ROCKWOOL A/S nor our Russian subsidiaries directly sell to Russian end users or have a customer relationship with the Russian military.”
“At ROCKWOOL, we typically do not comment on the specific details you have inquired about regarding particular projects or customer relationships. However, as we have previously mentioned, ROCKWOOL maintains comprehensive guidelines for risk assessments and due diligence.”
Michael Zarin did not disclose what specific kind of risk assessment Rockwool has conducted in relation to the deliveries to the Russian military, nor did he explain why Rockwool continued its cooperation with MKS for several years despite MKS’ regular deliveries to the Russian military.
Rockwool’s factories in Russia are not directly subject to EU laws and sanctions. Nonetheless, Rockwool is committed to adhering to the UN Guidelines on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which require companies to ensure that they do not contribute to human rights violations at any stage of their value chain.
In collaboration with Ekstra Bladet, Danwatch has uncovered a systematic use of Rockwool for insulating ships for Russia’s Ministry of Defence. The investigation has so far identified the following projects:
Furthermore, the leading Danish stone wool producer has supplied insulation materials for use in the Russian Ministry of Defense headquarters in Moscow, the naval headquarters in St. Petersburg, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs head office in Moscow.
Fernanda Hopenhaym Cabrera is a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights which works towards implementing and advising on the UNGPs. She believes that Rockwool bears responsibility for the fact that its products are now installed in three active frigates in Russia’s navy.
“If their subsidiary in Russia sells to distributors who then sell to the Russian military, then Rockwool naturally has a responsibility over the entire value chain. They can’t just say that they didn’t know,” says Hopenhaym Cabrera.
The UN guidelines are applicable to all companies, irrespective of whether they choose to acknowledge them or not. However, companies like Rockwool, which publicly commit to complying with the UNGPs, are expected to uphold those commitments, according to Hopenhaym Cabrera.
“A company that has a human rights policy and publicly commits to the UNGPs should have mechanisms in place to ensure that its products do not end up contributing to human rights violations,” she emphasizes.
Hopenhaym Cabrera points to the fact that two of the deliveries occurred after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, a period marked by Russia’s military aggression and well-documented human rights violations. Under such circumstances, companies are expected to conduct enhanced due diligence for their business operations.
“It appears that Rockwool, in this instance, has not carried out this enhanced due diligence for their entire value chain and business partners. If they want to have operations that are human rights respecting and to comply with their human rights responsibilities, they should have taken greater action in this type of setting”.
In addition to the three frigates that are built already, the shipyard Severnaya Verf is currently constructing five more frigates of the same type. Furthermore, they have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense for two additional frigates.
This suggests that there may be more contracts involving Rockwool than the three that are known to Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet.
We have reached out to Severnaya Verf for a comment regarding their use of Rockwool for warships, but they have not returned our emails. However, in a 2020 article published by the Russian military publication Mil.Press, the shipyard’s press department confirmed the utilization of Rockwool in frigates:
“For corvettes, we purchase insulation from the company Tizol, and for frigates – from Rockwool”.
The press department further added, “Rockwool initially had supplies from Finland, but now the Rockwool factory operates in Vyborg. The quality of products from these companies meets the requirements of the supervisory authorities and our customer.”
We have also reached out to Rockwool’s distributor Marine Complex Systems LLC (“MKS”), but they did not respond to our request for comment.
The Russian Navy’s latest frigates has captured both international and domestic attention, making headlines worldwide.
The Admiral Gorshkov series of frigates, measuring 135 meters in length, boast a top speed of 29.5 knots and are equipped with an array of weaponry, including Kalibr cruise missiles, anti-aircraft guns, anti-submarine weapons, and the A-192M artillery system.
Notably, these frigates also feature Russia’s latest hypersonic Zircon missiles, capable of striking targets up to 1,000 kilometers away.
During a ceremony in January of this year, President Putin praised the frigates, particularly the inclusion of the Zircon missiles, as the frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” was commissioned into active combat duty.
“It [the Zircon missile] has no analogue in any country in the world. I know that such powerful weapons will make it possible to reliably defend Russia from potential external threats and will help ensure our national interests,” remarked President Putin.
The following video, sourced from Russia’s Ministry of Defense, showcases the “Admiral Gorshkov” conducting artillery fire against a naval target in the Atlantic Ocean in February 2023.
According to plan, “Admiral Gorshkov” will embark on an extensive voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean. The vessel is fully prepared for combat, as confirmed by Commander Ivan Krokhmal, who reported to President Putin during the ceremony in January.
Krokhmal stated that the ship was “equipped with ammunition for the missiles in the Zircon and Caliber systems, air defence systems, torpedo weapons, and artillery. The crew of the ship is ready to carry out the tasks of combat duty.”
Recently, satellite images captured “Admiral Gorshkov” at the Russian naval base in Tartus, a port city in Syria, on April 29.
According to Russian news agency Tass, the “Admiral Gorshkov”, which can accommodate a crew of up to 210, will be patrolling the Mediterranean during May and June. Afterward, it will return to Russia’s Northern Fleet based in Murmansk, near the Arctic border with Norway.
Military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen from the Danish Defense Academy assesses that this strategy aligns with the Russian navy’s objectives.
“These ships enable them to operate over great distances. Unlike small corvettes confined to naval bases, frigates like these can be deployed worldwide. Russia has utilized this capability for long voyages to regions such as the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. These frigates possess the endurance and long-range missile capabilities to cover vast areas. As a result, they pose a threat from considerable distances and bring substantial firepower to the battlefield,” he says.
The second frigate in the series, “Admiral Kasatonov,” which was commissioned in 2020, has also attracted significant attention in the media.
In March 2023, the frigate returned to the Northern Fleet base in Severomorsk after an unprecedented journey lasting over 420 days. Remarkably, the frigate had covered a distance equivalent to circling the world three times.
During its return voyage to Severomorsk, the “Admiral Kasatonov” attracted the attention of the Spanish, Dutch, and English fleets, who closely monitored the frigate’s passage through their respective waters.
In Severomorsk, the “Admiral Kasatonov” will be joined by the third frigate in the series, the “Admiral Golovko.” The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that “Admiral Golovko” is currently undergoing final tests at the Russian Navy’s combat training ranges in the Barents Sea. Following the completion of these tests, it is scheduled to officially join the Northern Fleet in June.
Apart from the three completed frigates already mentioned, the Severnaya Verf shipyard is actively engaged in the construction of five additional frigates of the same type.
These forthcoming vessels bear the names “Admiral Isakov,” “Admiral Amelko,” “Admiral Chichagov,” “Admiral Yumashev,” and “Admiral Spiridonov.”
Furthermore, Severnaya Verf has secured a contract for two more frigates named “Admiral Kapitanets” and “Admiral Vysotsky.”
In April 2019, Vladimir Putin personally visited the shipyard to commemorate the keel-laying ceremony for two of the under-construction frigates, “Admiral Amelko” and “Admiral Chichagov.”
