According to information from the London Stock Exchange operator LSEG and several traders, the tanker Prisma, managed by the Azerbaijani company Vista Vvave Shipmanagement, has set sail for China via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the first time, haqqin.az reports. This route, previously almost entirely monopolized by the Russian shipping giant Sovcomflot, is becoming increasingly popular for transporting Russian oil to Asian countries.
The Prisma tanker, which was launched about 20 years ago and holds an ICE 1C classification, is equipped to navigate Arctic waters with the assistance of icebreakers. The vessel loaded crude oil at Russia’s Primorsk port on the Baltic Sea and is currently in the Kara Sea, en route to China.
Notably, the tanker sails under the Cook Islands flag and is owned by Evergreen Embrace Corp., registered in the Seychelles. Despite attempts by Reuters to contact representatives of Vista Vvave Shipmanagement and Evergreen Embrace Corp., no response had been received by the time of publication.
The Northern Sea Route, while shorter than the route through the Suez Canal, requires icebreaker support, which increases transportation costs. Nevertheless, traders expect an increase in oil shipments via the NSR this year despite the high navigation costs. In their view, China remains the only economically viable destination for using this route.
In 2024, from July to October, according to haqqin.az, six tankers transported approximately 600,000 tons of Russian oil to Chinese ports via the NSR. The first vessel, Olympiysky Prospect, is already nearing the Chinese port of Tianjin, while five other tankers, including NS Arctic, SCF Baltica, and Moskovsky Prospect, are currently en route.
Additionally, it is reported that Vista Vvave Shipmanagement is registered in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, at Baku Street, Building 5, Entrance 15, Apartment 36. However, no information about the company’s activities is available in open sources. One maritime website claims that the company also manages the tanker Centurion, which in June 2024 delivered Russian oil to Asian markets.
It is important to note that under economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, maritime shipments of Russian oil are restricted by a price cap of $60 per barrel. However, offshore and little-known trading companies continue to violate these sanctions, shipping millions of barrels of Russian oil to China and India daily.
