One in Five Russian Tankers Refuse Pilots in Danish Straits

Since partial sanctions on Russian oil shipping began to take hold in 2022, Danish maritime authorities have been concerned about the risks posed by fly-by-night "dark fleet" tankers carrying crude to market from Russia's Baltic terminals. The Danish Straits have narrow channels for merchant ships, and the risk of a collision or grounding - for which dark fleet ships might not have insurance - is a real possibility. According to local investigative reporting outlet Danwatch, that risk is getting higher because more and more of these tankers are refusing to take aboard a qualified pilot for the passage. 

According to Danwatch, traffic records show that the number of tankers refusing a pilot in the Danish Straits is on the rise. One out of five Russia-linked vessels now turn down the Danish Navy's recommendation to take on a marine pilot. 

Denmark cannot require a vessel to use a pilot because of the limits of the Copenhagen Convention of 1857, as reaffirmed by the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty designated the straits as an international waterway and guaranteed unfettered passage for the vessels of all nations. Up until that point, navigation through the straits was restricted and taxed by the Danish government, but the Copenhagen Convention removed these limits. Denmark strongly advises the use of pilots, and the Danish navy contacts and encourages the vessels that refuse to use them, but masters may ultimately make the choice to turn down the request - and save about $10,000 per passage. 

In the first three months of the year, about 10-14 percent of passing tankers refused pilot assistance. In May through July, the proportion rose to as much as 27 percent, and has remained at an elevated level.

Pilots help keep merchant ships out of trouble in confined waters, and this is doubly true if the vessel is inadequately crewed or in poor material condition. Pilot-free vessels in the Danish Straits have at times engaged in unsafe and aberrant behavior, and the Danish navy has occasionally broadcast warnings to shipping to avoid particularly irresponsible vessels. 

These concerns were validated earlier this year. On March 2, the 15-year-old tanker Andromeda Star was involved in a collision with an unnamed vessel, the Danish Maritime Authority confirmed to Bloomberg. AIS data provided by Pole Star shows that at about 0700 hours that morning, the tanker slowed to a sudden stop as it rounded the northern tip of Jutland. Luckily the ship was in ballast condition at the time and was headed for a Russian port on the Baltic to load oil.