There is bored...

And then there is BORED!!!

Some people watch Netflix in their spare time. Remy Osman tracks rusty tankers transporting illicit oil through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

From the roof of his Singapore apartment building, the British expat, who works as a food and beverage salesman, documents the passage of these shadow vessels, often sanctioned by the US and other Western countries, for his growing online audience.

Shadow fleets, also known as ghost or dark fleets, are ships that use murky tactics to transport oil for pariah states like Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Oil revenues from these fleets, consisting of aging tankers with opaque ownership, have become crucial sources of funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Full article, HERE from CNN.com

First, a little background. Singapore and the Malacca Straits provide two choke points for shipping in the Pacific/Indian Ocean region.

First is the Singapore Strait itself. Very narrow, only about 3 miles wide, of which less than 2 miles is usable, and a lot of ship traffic every day/night. Now the Malacca Strait looks nice and wide by comparison, but when you take 12nm off each side for ‘sovereign’ territory, it suddenly gets a LOT narrower...

This is a typical real time look at the Straits traffic as of 2000 CST last night.

Even the shadow fleet ships run their AIS going through the Straits to keep from getting run over. The spacing is very tight, approximately 2 nm between the West (northbound) and East (southbound lanes). The traffic is governed by a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) set up by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and includes specific reporting points for ALL ships to maintain spacing and clearance. Maximum speeds in some areas are limited to 12 knots, and minimum speeds are expected for the entire transit area, while anyone with problems are mandated to make a right turn out of their lane to clear traffic.

I’m betting Osman is NOT the only person(s) monitoring the Straits...

But it is an interesting read, and does give some good info on what folks do look for. I’m also wondering who/how much he gets paid per month for his ‘reports’???