美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia relies on 'shadow fleets' for crude oil sales

Russia relies on 'shadow fleets' for crude oil sales

Transcript¹

Facing sanctions for its Ukraine invasion, Russia's looking further afield to find customers for its crude oil, and it is having to rely on so-called "shadow fleets" to do so.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A European Union ban European on Russian oil is forcing the Kremlin to look elsewhere for customers. Now it's turning to a fleet of tankers² willing to bust³ sanctions. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE⁴: Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe was by far and away the largest customer for its oil - even bigger than Russia's domestic market.

CRAIG KENNEDY: Pipelines⁵, ports, oil fields in West Siberia - everything has been oriented toward selling to Europe. But now it's being forced into a much smaller market, much further away.

NORTHAM: Craig Kennedy is with the Davis Center for Russian Eurasian Studies at Harvard and spent years in Moscow. He says the Kremlin has been scrambling⁶ to come up with ways to get crude to those other markets. But it would take years to build a series of pipelines to Asia and elsewhere.

KENNEDY: They realized, we are going to be stuck with seaborne exports. Eighty percent of our oil has to reach its end customers by sea, and that means tankers.

NORTHAM: But there was a problem. Russia faces a shortage of tankers willing to transport the oil. Its own fleet isn't big enough. Many Western companies have refused to carry Russian crude since the war in Ukraine. And the U.S. and its allies implemented⁷ a plan that would prevent tankers from transporting Russian oil unless it came at or below $60 a barrel for its own brand of crude. Right now, prices are below that. But that could change. So the Kremlin has been building up a network known as a shadow fleet.

ERIK BROEKHUIZEN: The shadow fleet is a group of ships. It's difficult to estimate exactly how many ships there are, but probably between two and 300.

NORTHAM: Erik Broekhuizen is with Poten & Partners, a brokerage and consulting firm specializing in energy and maritime⁸ transportation.

BROEKHUIZEN: A lot of those ships have been acquired in recent months in anticipation⁹ of this EU ban. And the sole purpose of these ships is to move Russian crude just in case it would be illegal for regular owners to do so.

NORTHAM: Most vessels¹¹ in the shadow fleets are owned by offshore¹² companies in countries with more lenient¹³ shipping¹⁴ rules, like Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands, says Basil Karatzas, CEO of New York-based Karatzas Marine¹⁵ Advisors¹⁶, a shipping finance advisory¹⁷ firm. He says the owners have limited exposure to U.S. or EU governments or banks, and so their fear of sanctions is limited, and enforcement is difficult. Karatzas says the risk-reward ratio is favorable to the owners of the shadow fleet tankers.

BASIL KARATZAS: If you can make 10, $20 per barrel spread and the vessel¹⁰ holds a million barrels of oil, you can make, like, five, $10 million profit per voyage. If you do it five times a year, you can see the economics of that.

NORTHAM: Karatzas says shadow fleets have long been used by Iran and Venezuela to evade¹⁸ sanctions. He says shadow fleet tankers tend to be old and junky. But since the start of the Ukraine war, they've become highly valuable because of the cargo¹⁹.

KARATZAS: In February 2022, a 20-year-old vessel was more or less valued at close to scrap²⁰. Now these vessels are worth 40 million apiece. So at the very least, Putin gave to the shipowners a very nice present.

NORTHAM: Putin will need plenty more shadow fleet tankers if the price of Russian oil rises past $60 a barrel and legitimate²¹ ships are then banned from carrying the crude. But with such a highly lucrative²² business and a small chance of getting caught, more tankers could be lured²³ into joining the shadow fleet.

Jackie Northam, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

3 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

6 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

9 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

10 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

11 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

13 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

14 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

15 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

16 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

17 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

18 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

19 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

20 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

21 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

22 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

23 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。