The US has rejected a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, according to reports last night.
Canada, which has the current Group of Seven presidency, proposed the measure ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Quebec later this week.
In negotiations to agree a joint statement on maritime issues, the US is pushing to strengthen language about China while watering down wording on Russia, the reports said.
I mean apart from the logic of sanctions, those shadowfleet boats are “environmental disaster” ticking timebombs. They are not very safe or seaworthy.
Some of them have extreme strange huge anchors, which tend to drag 100 km across the oceanfloor and mysterously break critical communication cables in Europe and so. Others have dubious highend technical devices on board.
Nice detail is that somehow they end up being owned by a Hong Kong Ltd.
Just out of interest, where did you hear that the boats from this shadow fleet are registered by a company in Hong Kong? There would be some irony if China would use this as the final excuse to take over Hong Kong, to “clean up the mess” that Hong Kong companies have been causing internationally.
They’re basically modern privateers - acting on behest of their leader nations, but with public deniability. Every once in a while I wonder what it would take for a Nemo-type character to show up, commandeer a submarine, and start stalking/hunting them.