An aging fleet of rusting, uninsured tankers are smuggling sanctioned Russian fossil fuels to international markets. (Canva)

Russia’s shadow tanker fleet skirts sanctions, fuels war—and more

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Britain and Finland are discussing ways to foil a shadow fleet of tankers that has been skirting Western sanctions and smuggling Russian crude oil and diesel fuel out of the Baltic Sea to international markets.

Estimates of the number of tankers running illicit Russian oil vary wildly between 100 and 1,400. Uninsured and masked behind opaque ownership structures, they are believed to be transporting 90 million tonnes of oil through the Danish straits into the North Sea each month—and spying in the process.

The European Union slapped a US$60-a-barrel price cap on Russian oil in December 2022 to curtail Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine and avert a surge in global oil prices after embargoes on Russian crude.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• Russia’s Black Sea fleet falls back amid staggering losses
• Skeletons found buried inside Hermann Göring’s former residence
• The teenager who became Canada’s last Medal of Honor recipient

Kanao Inouye, known as the Kamloops Kid, is pictured while in custody in 1945.(Wikimedia)

The rise and fall of the Kamloops Kid

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

It was on or around Sept. 10, 1945, when the former Canadian prisoners of Ohashi prisoner-of-war camp in Japan laid eyes on their salvation.

The men, having been imprisoned since the fall of Hong Kong almost four years earlier, expected an American liberation. This they would receive but, for now, their visitors turned out to be a single Canadian army captain and a corporal.

The pair’s arrival confirmed that the war was indeed over. That unto itself was hardly a surprise, however, as Ohashi had been one of the first camps to learn of the Japanese capitulation on Aug. 15, 1945.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• American versus Canadian bravado: The Devil’s Brigade on the silver screen
• Private to General: Remembering Jacques Dextraze
• The U-Boat Menace Returns: HMCS Esquimalt Sunk in Canadian Waters

Member Benefit Partner

Embark on an unforgettable voyage with BST Vacations and the Royal Canadian Legion aboard Celebrity Eclipse! This 9-night Caribbean Cruise includes visits to Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, and Grand Cayman, all while indulging in top-notch amenities and entertainment on the ship.

Learn about this exclusive journey from Celebrity Cruises Sales Manager, Sandra Pennington, in a video recorded just for Legion Members: https://youtu.be/sxcUVxBHnoQ

Reserve your spot between June 1^st to 10^th and receive a BONUS $100 Onboard Credit.

For English inquiries, contact Bruce McIntosh at 1-800-461-8500 Ext 301 or bmcintosh@bstvacations.ca. For French assistance, reach Debbie Pichette at (418) 525-0540 or dpichette@gvq.ca. Full details: https://bstvacations.ca/royal-canadian-legion-cruise/

Learn more