Norway-registered Romarine AS presupposed to be an insurance coverage supplier with an internet site itemizing dozens of tankers believed to be a part of Russia’s shadow fleet, together with vessels below Western sanctions.
Nonetheless, the corporate was not registered as an insurance coverage supplier by Norway’s Monetary Supervisory Authority (FSA), the FSA stated.
Western nations have imposed sanctions on a whole bunch of ships they believe Russia is utilizing to keep away from value cap restrictions on exports of crude oil and different cargoes.
Such vessels aren’t regulated or lined by standard Western insurers, posing the danger of unsafe tankers and environmental harm within the occasion of a wreck.
What makes the matter of Romarine stand out is that the agency made an effort to point out the tankers concerned had Western insurance coverage protection within the occasion of air pollution or sinking.
“It’s an especially uncommon case,” Jo Gjedrem, an official on the FSA, instructed Reuters.
The FSA despatched a warning to Romarine in January, however the firm failed to reply, the authority instructed Reuters, prompting it to concern an order on March 4 instructing the agency to halt operations.
Romarine in response to emailed questions from Reuters stated it was conscious of the FSA’s March 4 order and that it had replied “with some delay by means of our legal professionals.” Romarine stated it operated according to relevant laws, however that it had determined to cease taking new enterprise till there’s “optimistic suggestions from the authority.” The FSA stated it had obtained no reply from Romarine.
Romarine AS is totally owned by Andrey Mochalin, a Russian citizen and former worker of Norwegian insurer Hydor AS, Norwegian business database Proff exhibits.
Johan Gjernes, Romarine’s former chairman and Hydor AS’s chief enterprise officer, instructed Reuters by e-mail that Romarine was bought to Mochalin who owns it outright. Gjernes resigned from Romarine in August 2023, whereas Mochalin turned its chairman a yr later, Norway’s official firm registry exhibits.Romarine’s web site is positioned in Russia, in line with Norid AS, Norway’s government-run registry of domains. Two business IP finding web sites pinpointed an handle in St Petersburg.
Mochalin didn’t return Reuters’ phone calls, textual content messages, LinkedIn and WhatsApp messages or requests for remark despatched by e-mail.
Ships Below Sanctions
Romarine’s web site as of early March listed at the very least 30 oil tankers topic to U.S., EU or UK sanctions, together with the oil tankers Captain Kostichev and Ionia, two vessels which appeared in certificates of insurance coverage introduced to Russian port authorities seen by Reuters.
It has deleted some names since.
A certificates of insurance coverage offered by the Gabon-flagged tanker Ionia to Russian port authorities in Primorsk on February 2 and dated January 9 listed Romarine as its insurance coverage supplier.
One other introduced to port authorities in De Kastri in Russia’s Far East by the Panama-flagged Captain Kostichev was dated March 24 additionally listed Romarine as its insurer.
Though that certificates stated it was legitimate till April 24, the vessel has since been deleted from Romarine’s web site whereas the Ionia stays.
The Captain Kostichev is operated by United Arab Emirates-based Stream Ship Administration, LSEG knowledge exhibits.
The Ionia is owned and operated by Seychelles-based Narus Maritime Company.
Reuters was not capable of attain both firm for remark.
When requested about insuring vessels which are topic to Western sanctions, Romarine stated they appeared on its web site by mistake as a result of a technical glitch.
“Now we have carried out our new system with computerized enter some weeks in the past and (we’re) working to search out out what went flawed,” the corporate stated in an emailed reply to Reuters obtained on March 12.
Gjedrem stated the FSA turned involved about Romarine after it obtained an emailed inquiry final September from abroad asking a few doc carrying FSA’s letterhead which licensed Romarine as a vessel’s insurer.
“We instantly noticed that it was false,” Gjedrem stated. “The letterhead had presumably been copied and pasted into the solid doc. It cited non-existent Norwegian regulation. The one that signed it by no means labored at Finanstilsynet (the FSA), and the stamp was false.”
The FSA on March 25 posted a warning on its web site towards utilizing the companies of Romarine.
Oslo police have additionally launched an investigation into Romarine’s enterprise actions after receiving a grievance from the FSA.
The police instructed Reuters they have been investigating 4 individuals – two Norwegian residents, one Bulgarian and a Russian – on suspicion of making and utilizing falsified paperwork and performing insurance coverage mediation actions with out a license.
They stated a search of the residence of one of many suspects was performed in late March.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK was the primary to report the police investigation.
Romarine didn’t reply to a Reuters request for touch upon the police probe.
Russia’s Ministry of Transport and its Federal Company for Sea and Inland Water Transport didn’t reply to Reuters’ requests for remark concerning the Norwegian investigation into Romarine or its order for the agency to halt operations.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov, Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo and Reuters reporters in Moscow; further reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; modifying by Nina Chestney and Jason Neely)
