Monrovia – Liberia is still recognized as the largest ship registry in the world despite a recent report that dozens of its oil tankers used by Russia have stopped sailing under the Liberian and Marshall Islands flags in recent weeks. The Russian move comes in the aftermath of the United States recent sanctions enforcement on ships linked to Russian registries.
By Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
Despite the Russian decision, FrontPageAfrica has learned that the Liberian fleet is still the fastest growing major open flag in both the shipping and offshore sectors and currently has a growth rate of 8.0% – more than twice that of most other open flags.
The Liberian registry managed by the Liberia International Shipping Registry (LISCR) has been successful in combining increased safety and efficiency with reduced costs, something most of the other competitors have been unable to do.
Since last October, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on some 41 oil tankers for Russian price cap violations, 24 of which were flying the Liberian flag and one of which was using the Marshall Islands flag.
Late last year, the United States, European Union and UK issued pressuring Liberia, the Marshall Islands and Panama to increase oversight of ships carrying their flags to ensure they do not transport Russian oil sold above the price cap, a source told Reuters at the time.
FrontPageAfrica has learned that the departure of those 24 Russian ships will have no impact on Liberia’s current standing and will have no effect on the country’s standings.
The Liberian flag registry told Reuters that all the Liberian-flagged vessels which were sanctioned were in the process of having their Liberian flags removed. “We are all living in a different world right now and the registries need to adapt to what the global situation is at this point,” the Liberian registry said.
Last July, Liberia emerged as the new leader in ship registry, overtaking Panama for the first time in three decades.
Data released by Clarksons Research, shows that Liberia now boasts the world’s largest flag fleet, outpacing its Central American rival in terms of gross tonnage.
The Liberian Ship Registry is ranked as the ship registry with the highest tonnage with 246.5 million GT and 5,052 ships, while the Panama Registry has 244.3 million GT and 8,254 ships. While Liberia may have surpassed Panama in terms of gross tonnage, it is essential to note that Panama remains the leader in ship flagging, with of over 3,200 ships. Also, in Clarksons Research’s World Fleet Monitor report, both Liberia and Panama appear with 16% of the world fleet.
A report by Reuters notes that the G7, the EU and Australia recently imposed a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian oil exports in December 2022 as part of wider economic sanctions aimed at cutting Moscow’s revenues without disrupting global energy supplies, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the report, the cap bans the use of Western maritime services when tankers carry Russian oil priced at or above the cap. A U.S. official, who requested anonymity when speaking about the sanctions, confirmed that the Liberian and Marshall Islands flag registries qualify as Western services.
Almost all of the other tankers were flagged in Gabon, including 12 of the 14 targeted by the Treasury Department in its most recent bundle of sanctions on Feb. 23. Of those Gabon-flagged tankers, in which Russia’s top shipping company Soycomflot (SCF) has an interest, at least three had recently flown the Liberian flag, according to Reuters’ analysis of shipping data.
The tankers, according to Reuters were among a slew of ships in the SCF fleet moving to Gabon, according to the data: as of early February, SCF had 42 tankers in its 147-tanker fleet that had recently shifted to the Gabon flag, mainly from Liberia and Panama.
According to Reuters, switching to the Gabon flag could also invite additional risk at ports for tankers carrying Russian oil. A U.S. official said tankers that carried Russian oil above $60 that switch to the Gabon flag could also have a more difficult time with port authorities concerned about the safety of ageing tankers.