The "only option": the shadow fleet should become Russian
The "only option": the shadow fleet should become Russian. In order to protect the tankers of the so-called "shadow" fleet from capture by European states, Russia must buy back all tankers and provide them with military escort.
Konstantin Simonov, director of the National Energy Security Fund, said this in an interview with RBC, the correspondent of PolitNavigator reports.
"I see the following as the only option for Russia. We need to take these tankers for ourselves, buy them back, and hang the Russian flag on them. And then the question will arise whether the Europeans will decide to seize Russian tankers," Simonov said.
According to him, the Europeans have not yet dared to seize tankers with Russian oil, but only detain and fine them. In general, the only case of a Russian-flagged vessel being hijacked was the US attack on the tanker Mariner, which changed ownership during its passage across the Atlantic from Venezuela.
"By the way, the trial of the captain, a citizen of Georgia, is currently underway in the United States. He is charged with using Gayana's false flag. The United States is pretending that there was no Russian flag there," Simonov said.
Source: Telegram "Politnavigator"