The USA is not patrolling the seas now with destroyers. They are carrier batttle groups heavy and they are not interested in being the police of the sea any longer. Deglobalization is here.
This was a real eye-opener! I have been hearing about a hypothetical decline of "globalism" and trade happening outside of normal channels. This talk was more about finances. I hadn't even thought about its direct impact on shipping.
This has "China cutting corners" written all over it. Because of how bad their economy is, the Chinese government (CCP) is pushing the de-dollaring of the world economy in the hopes it can prop up their country's abysmal future.
I have absolutely no interest in shipping. I only launched this video thinking it might be about Russian oil sanctions.. Over 15 minutes later, I'm still glued to my screen, totally absorbed!! You have a captivating, informal but professional delivery and I'm hooked!! Thanks for taking the time to open the door (hatch?) for me, into the world of shipping.
Having a crew would mean they could be interrogated about the oil transfers. The guilty countries and state-run companies certainly don't want to be exposed that they are evading international sanctions.
Interesting. I am not maritime but I bumped into this on UA-cam. I wish the media would pick up such stories. This at sea oil transfer is a significant environmental threat. Let alone other legal issues. Well done. Respect from Australia.
@@wgowshipping Pablo Union is based in the Marshall Islands, which means there's a 99% chance it's US owned which is why Iran seized one of Pablo Union's ships. It's irrelevant where the ship is registered. It's who OWNS the company. Hence why the insurer is 'unknown' and the owner can't be 'located'. This is the US itself sanction busting through shell companies to get a better grade of oil....
As soon as I heard about the large number of ship-to-ship transfers happening, and being normalized, I freaked out. So much could go wrong doing this outside of a protected harbor. If nothing else, there's no way you could deploy a boom. The ship's documentation is straight out of 007. Keep doing the good work!
I don't understand why they are doing this. Surely it would be easier and cheaper to just simply change the name on the ship. Stick it on, peel it off. Completely safe. Takes only a few minutes. Post a lookout to make sure nobody's looking. Or do it at night. You don't even need to stop. The ships beacons can be transferred using boats. The actual ships don't even have to get to within 2km of each other.
My guess. The PABLO loaded Venezuelan crude and motored to the South China Sea where it met a coastal tanker for delivery into China. After they were done with the transfer, static electricity created during tank cleaning ignited the atmosphere in a tank. This assumes the tanker’s inert gas generator or scrubber was broken or not keeping up with demand which allowed the tank to get within flammable range. Unfortunately, I doubt we will ever know for sure the circumstances leading to the fire. Nice work Sal!
I'm betting it didn't. If it's based in the Marshall Islands, it's US owned which is why Iran seized one of Pablo Union's ships. It's irrelevant where the ship is registered. It's who OWNS the company. Hence why the insurer is 'unknown' and the owner can't be 'located'. This is the US itself sanction busting through shell companies to get a better grade of oil....
@@oldarchillies163 Indeed i did. And I take ALL sources of information with a grain of salt. His second video on this was even more informative. The only thing I'd change is that the oil was bound for the US. I still believe being based out of the Marshall Islands and no other info being available, that the company is a shell company for a US interest. Whether it be commercial or 'black'.
Greetings from a fellow Campbell Univ grad. Just found you channel and it is very interesting even though I know nothing about shipping. Very well explained and presented.
Insurance aspect is interesting. The dark fleet or those benefiting from it obviously don't care about the risks. Can you do a segment on insurance for international shipping? We can all see from the tracking image that there are far too many ships to keep track of legitimate operations vs the "unknown owners". How do you think the industry can get a handle on things, if possible, before we get too far along and see ever larger catastrophic results? Sanctions don't work, rather they are part of the driving force behind developments. Great presentation as always.
Sanctions don't work? but obviously they do to a certain extent, Venezuela, Iran and Russia are limping along economically, and Cash strapped China picks up the black market loot, ship to ship transfers on the high seas are more costly in manpower and on shipping, it is always the same actors who carry out the dastardly deeds, they would rather do it covertly rather than obey the international rules because they don't want to play by international rules they just make their own up, I'm sure they have their own reasons but they are not very valid!?!
This simply is not true. Even without transponders, we have the resources needed to track all ships in the water. It is a simple lack of ethics and a willingness to pay for ethically managing ship operations around the world. The sad fact is, the grey markets generate more money than the losses like this ship. Everyone believes it the fault of the next sailor, officer, country, etc , and everyone washes their hands of the matter, ignoring the deaths that happen. For some, it really is just another day on the high seas.
Brainfryde: "The sad fact is, the grey markets generate more money than the losses like this ship." Given the scope of the gray market, the number of collisions, explosions etc. is not alarming. This fire seems like a gross negligence in a nearly empty ship, so the loss of cargo and environmental damage are relatively small. From the explanation in the video, a typical method to reduce oxygen in cargo tanks is to use engine exhaust, perhaps this method can leave too much oxygen in the exhaust, or requires multiple properly sequenced steps when you open the tanks in preparation for new cargo (workers need oxygen...). Concerning insurance, I would guess that it may be conditional on inspections etc., so worthless (and thus cheap).
Thanks Sal .. despite the gravity of this fire .. you give us hysteria free reporting , truly this is a tragedy that as you pointed out, was inevitable … I can’t believe any of the major networks don’t have you on speed dial …I guess you just make sense and they just can’t figure that out .. Thanks 😊
U will not hear the Communist State and Israeli controlled news networks mention more than the happenings that is about it. That is how things are going to remain until the Chicoms and Jews release our news media from their strangle hold. But it will take WWIII to make that a reality.
The major networks would definitely NOT want this covered. Pablo Union is based in the Marshall Islands, which means there's a 99% chance it's US owned which is why Iran seized one of Pablo Union's ships. It's irrelevant where the ship is registered. It's who OWNS the company. Hence why the insurer is 'unknown' and the owner can't be 'located'. This is the US itself sanction busting through shell companies to get a better grade of oil....
That's why the Yorktown in WW2 survived, because after the planes fueled and took off, all the fuel was pumped out of the piping system and filled with inert gas. The Japanese hit the Yorktown hard, but there were no mayor explosions, fire that could sink the ship. It was able to limp back to the nearest port, make repairs and go back to fight!
All it did was burn out residue oil lining. The only way that a fire could have started was a faulty pump. However, you are right about replacing the volume with a nitrogen. I would fathom that they didn't have any gas for the tanks. I'm also questioning how this vessel is being used. It sounds like it was moving undocumented cargo.
In the 70's I sailed on many VLCC tankers. Often when 'tank washing' whilst in ballast conditions you could hear 'thunderstorms' due to static buildup. The water wash system . known as 'Butterworths' was grounded but the actual 'in tank environment' would have too much Oxygen that allowed static flashing in the steamy vaporized water droplets! The Chevron Tanker I worked on in Singapore : James E O'Brien' suffered a similar explosion later in its working life!
You can also add Russian oil to the the list of thing being transferred to other boats in international water, thought they have been doing more in isolated area where NO ONE can see them, but that's happening too, and I'm sure there's some the off Indonesian too.
This reminded me of the Tanker explosion in LA Harbor back in the 70's. It was also caused by explosive gas buildup in the tanks, Found the ship name SS Sansinena. They were still talking about it when I moved into the Marina's. It broke almost every facing window in San Pedro.
Brilliant reporting built on excellent research and presented professionally. Thank you so much for the education and insight. My world has expanded because of your fine effort.
So, there have been missing passenger jets in this region, Submarine grounding, near collisions of warships, cargo ships harassed, there is something much more sinister amiss in this region
Seems like the ship did not meet classification standards and were dropped by several companies for a similar reason(s) ... One other fire cause could be a result of tank cleaning associated with a flammable atmosphere and tool-spark combination. Sal, you have your hands full of errant ship tales and events ... imo you are doing a great job. Thank you for the videos.
With the amount of buckling on the port side of the vessel, it looks like either the aft most cargo tank (6P?) or the slop tank exploded. If the tanks had been inerted as per ISGOTT to below 8% O2, this cannot happen due to lack of oxygen. My guess as to cause would be sloppy gasfreeing procedures, tank cleaning in an unsafe atmosphere, or even repair works in a tank that was not properly gasfreed.
Chinese ships avoiding laws and regulations? Shocked I say just shocked. I highly encourage everyone to read the book: The Outlaw Sea. It does a great job of explaining the dark fleets and corruption in shipping as a whole.
Tanks on tanker trucks also have the problem. My grandfather was blown off the top of a truck that was scheduled to haul asphalt to a work site. Amazingly, the only long term effect was that the blast corrected his near sightedness.
Yes, your timing starting a maritime UA-cam channel unfortunately seems to have been good - sorry to hear about this accident. I worked on a coastwise tanker for a few months, and fire danger was always in mind. Tanks are especially dangerous when they're empty, but hopefully the O2 levels are kept below the danger point. Probably for some reason they weren't, and a spark must have set it off. Ship to ship transfers...you called it.
THEY usually use large fenders to keep the ships apart, and use their morring lines to keep together I used to do AT SEA replenishment transfers- that is you send over a wire cable and connect the ships, then you send over the transfering hose and it's connected on the other ship, then you start pumping. ALL this is happening when the ships are moving, roughly 5 knots.
Nice - though as an ex crude master mariner - think your theory on the inert gas system causing muti tank fires is incorrect (can't ignite Inert gas). Because there are multiple tanks on fire , I suspect cargo tanks where not inerted sufficently (or kept over rich with hydrocarbons) to ensure tank atmosphere is always below or above the flammable limits and they have tried to tank wash (probably hot wash). The hot washing can be done with oil from the slops tanks and being steam heated - but I suspect they may have used fresh water - which causes oxygenation in the tank atmospheres ( if your Ig gas system is not run) and once the Hydrocarbon and oxygen level reaches the flammable range if they used water it becomes a a static electricity charged ( caused by blasting water through the COW system ie friction of water under pressure). Hence the ignition of multi tanks at once. Otherwise can't see how you ignite Multiple tanks through the multi cargo line valves, or through , Pressure/ Vacuum vent lines, or an IG system which has a water trap in in also in the cargo room ( which I see is not on fire). Be interesting to see the incident report if one come out.
Amazing. Good reporting Sal. I'm in the Philippines and this was news to me. Black fleet, dark fleet, ghost fleet what ever it is all the countries are involved in it. Crazy stuff but the players will find ways to get around the rules.
Thanks for the very comprehensive analysis and close examination of this unfortunate incident that the industry can learn about such vessels operating within the “dark fleets” of the maritime world.
Question Sal, Could a country regulate ship to ship transfers and/or the passage of these "Dark Fleet" vessels that lack documentation, in their 200 Mile Exclusive Economic Zones. It seems to me that if they can regulate fishing and oil drilling, they should be able to regulate oil transfers at sea, between vessels because of the potential of environmental harm to the marine environment in their Exclusive Economic Zones??? Plus they are doing business (transfers) in the EEC. Thoughts. Also why are insurers not raising rates or refusing to insure these "Dark Vessels" and similar ships that lack minimum safety standards, etc.
I trade crude oil and need this in my feeds!!! SUBSCRIBED!!! I do agree also that this is just the beginning and we're going to see more and more of these kinds of disasters. We have not by any measure seen the worst of it!!! And singapore needs to rethink it's alliance with china. It's on the wrong side of the trade and doesn't know it.... yet. They were no doubt, bought off (bribed). That money will prove to be useless, dirty and covered in blood.
I know it was said in jest at the end but the next ship will explode or worse there will be a collision and leak the will get to the Malaysian coast resulting in an environmental catastrophe. Thanks for this report and for spreading the word to folks who maybe are unaware of the risk these dark fleet ships represent.
One would think the metal ship is grounded. I'd consider a line between ships with a slack loop cable that is grounded in the ocean and connected ship to ship. I bet they ran out of gas and one never knows. Helicopters have the same issue and they have a cable to the ship in the water and a wood stick with a cable and hook that discharges and maintains the balance. Something is afoot in this ship explosion.
Oil transfer lines need grounding between segments or else you can get static discharges inside the pipeline. Electrical faults, welding or even static off clothing are another sources of ignition.
Ship to Ship is the only thing needed, since they are where the spark will come from, ocean water has nothing to do with it They are NOT going to be INERTING the tanks with crewmembers IN THERE cleaning, only afterwards, looks like the crew caused the explosion when down in the unclean tanks
@@InMyBrz Ocean water is very conductive and will effect a solid ground. So if either ship had static it conducts to salt water. That is how submarines do it.
I've heard a bit about the ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, such as what North Korea has done for years. I would think that the nations adversely affected by this (such as Malaysia's coast guard, fishing industries), would press for international measures to diminish the utility (& value) of such ships. For example, #1) Any ship that performs an STS transfer MUST only do so with ships that ARE ALSO compliant. #2) Any STS transfer MUST leave BOTH of their AIS transmitters on. #3) Each COUNTRY is PUBLICLY GRADED based on their enforcement against importing or exporting with vessels conforming to these standards. So if China allows ships engaged in 'dark' STS transfers, it imposes some level of shame and possible cost premiums.
Previous owners were from India. Current owners unknown. Gabon flag. How is it China's reponsibility. I have some doubts as to whether even Malaysia has the authority to stop it seeing as these ships were in Singapore port's outer anchorage, outside of Malaysian territorial waters.
@@danielch6662 I did NOT say this event was China's responsibility. I selected China as an example because they have used 'dark' ship-to-ship transfers. As for Malaysia, you again missed the point I was trying to make. I cited Malaysia as an example because in this specific instance, they will be adversely impacted. The purpose of my suggestions was some possible steps to curtail shipping that lacks common safety inspections and adherence. It is analogous to steps most countries take, say for someone who lands ashore, and seeks employment as a surgeon. At a minimum, proof of a properly accredited level of certification is standard practice.
Like it or not, You are my trusted news about shipping, which has so many implications! Thanks, I'm glad you got involved as you seam honest, without personal opinion.. Aloha to you!🤙😎
Hello. I jumped on board with the Ohio River barge situation. This shipping thing is outside my realm and quite confusing but probably is something that I need to follow. Thank you for your coverage.
Thanks for the coverage in this topic, empty tankers exploding with uncontrolled product transfers, probably on non insured vessels , I hope these shady operators can get shut down and brought to justice, the ecosystem is in enough danger already
This will still just be the 1st of these. The structural causes remain in place for why these transfers are taking place. The only questions are how many more times this will happen, and what the geofinancial and geopolitical reactions will be.
Sal, I tried emailing you to keep this out of public comments but your email service rejected my email. First, I want to say I appreciate your videos. You are covering topics of interest to a great many people. I have, however, noticed that there is an inconsistency with the sound and video being out of sync on your videos. This typically occurs when using a capture device capturing video and audio through a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Most video capture devices have settings for adjusting the audio lag typically by the second or fraction of seconds. One technique to resolve the problem is to do a short test where you clap your hands while recording. On playback, you can determine the time delay, either plus or minus, and make that correction in your capture software. Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos and only offer this as constructive criticism in hopes of making them even better.
@@Skarry i too came here too comment just that. @Gilkey_Graphics i wish people would help others as you respectfully just did, instead of bashing and hating for the audio being slightly out of sync. world need more of you
With this guy? I'm by far more interested in the content of what he's revealing to us than his technical audio/video abilities - urgent priorities are of most importance you know...and audio/video lag ain't one of 'em!
@@cammieg4381 My initial intent was to contact Sam by the email address he lists. Unfortunately his email server rejected my email. I accept that you are willing to overlook technical errors in a video stream. I have accepted them in multiple videos. But if he wants his channel to grow, audio/video needs to be in sync. I offered constructive comments to help him grow his channel. I regret that doing so offended you but my belief is that you need to know what your problems are in order to resolve them.
It'll turn up there for sure. But buried deep unless you happen to live in Malaysia or Singapore. PS: 1 May is a public holiday in both countries. Labour Day.
Disaster or not, there is still enough incentive to continue. The only thing that will stop it is widespread poracy which the lawless behavior will foster.
Another big optical indicator which speaks for a gas/air explosion you can see @ 3:24 how the the flank of the ship looks crumbled like someone played with an empty coke can. I saw int he chemical industry train tank wagons being crushed from the outer air pressure as they were emptied but someone forgot to open the valve to allow to equalize the pressure when the fluid inside gets drained but no air can rush in. Quickly the outer air pressure can crush such a wagon like you can with an empty soda can. Allowing air in to equalize pressure is one thing. By flammable content at large tanks like on tankers you need to replace the outside the air with an inert gas to not give remaining fumes from oil, fuel, etc. can form an explosive mix as you mentioned. Not letting ANY gas into a tank being emptied can crush them from the outside air pressure, but so can also a combustion inside and the volume of the gas turning from flammable fumes and air (the oxygen in it) which leads still to some crushing from the outside air which explains the crumbled ship side. Such combustion's can be violent by bending of torn metal to the outside. But often without a typical explosion, depending on the amount of oxygen and 'fuel' for the combustion. The weakest link of such tanks aboard is usually the parts where the tanks get fueled, resp. on the top of the deck. That's why all the smoke is on the top were the pressure reduction in this case 'just' let to a deformation of the ship hull but hopefully not to any tears to pollute the water. I hope this helped a bit.
Sal, Your video was very informative. You raised as many questions as you answered. One error you made is your comment on grounding the ship. At sea, there is nowhere to connect a grounding wire. Even if there were, there is a question as to whether they would work. Terminals require a ground wire to be in place before cargo transfer. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, when inert gas systems were being retrofitted on older tankers research showed to ground a tanker the wire size needed would require wires orders of magnitude larger than those being used. The tanker was not inert based on the fact it was on fire. Based on the limited number of photos it does not appear that there was an explosion. While it appears that the entire cargo block was burning, there is no visual sign there was an explosion. Based on the fact the tanker was very light my guess was they were water-washing the tanks. If this was the case they might have had the tanks open for portable "Butterworth" washing machines to supplement fixed cleaning machines. If portable machines were being used the tanks would be open. Assuming that they were water washing, they would most likely be recirculating wash water from the "dirty" slop tank to the "clean" slop tank and back to the tank washing machines to the cargo tanks. If the slop tank water is not properly decanted then you can be washing with a combination of water and oil which can be statically charged. What makes little sense is why would they be tank-washing. Based on the size of the vessel it is a crude oil tanker. If it is carrying different crude types you would normally crude oil wash. You would strip back to the slop tank and practice load-on-top. Water-washing would not be required. Water washing would be done for tank entry or before a shipyard visit. After all that speculation I can say I have been on a ship after it had exploded. And, I have stopped the discharge of a tanker that was not properly inserted. This tanker was an old steam ship that was showing visible indication that the stack gas was not below 8% O2. On inspection the oxygen analyzer was inoperative and the readout was stuck at 8%. Nothing would surprise me. Regulations require that the oxygen content of the tanks be measured at different levels in the tanks. If a tanker is in the process of gas freeing the tanks should be purged with inert gas until the hydrocarbon content is below the lower explosive limit (LEL). It should then be gas freed until the oxygen content has reached 21%. As you have indicated there are far more questions than answers. Bob
I … what? There are so many questions… first one … if countries own 12 nautical miles from coast, who governs beyond that? Also - I don’t know almost everything about shipping. I CAN see hundreds of ship dots every time you bring up that locator map. If 10% of the total planets fleet is “dark”, then a) that is not a small number and b) the money attached to that must be in the billions. Thank you so much for all the education you provide on every episode. You make a material contribution how I see the world. 👍😎
Who owns international waters? Nobody. This is what the US has been fighting for in the SCS. PS: last year, the US seized Iran flagged tanker Lana, transfered its oil to Liberian flagged Ice Energy, and sent the oil to the US. The transfer was done ... at sea.
I think a big question not asked is: are there any usn ships in the vicinity of the 'accident' around the same time, as in certain mysterious explosion in the Baltic sea recently 😅
No one ever cuts corners when out on voyage... Everyone is always fully trained on safety procedures and regulations and all equipment is fully operational. Right?
I don't know what has become of the international rule of law but it is kind of the wild west out in the open seas right now. Something needs to change or else we are going to start seeing oil spills and piracy becoming a very common thing again.
Mr Mercoglano, sir, you ARE A MIGHTY MIGHTY MAN. . So much fascinating ,cogently expressed Dark Fleet shipping gen. On the Dumra during '67 INDO/PAK War
Fuel moving through a hose or pipe can produce a static charge similar to when you run your feet back and forth on a synthetic carpet. The fuel transfer system needs to be grounded to the tank to prevent the build up of this charge producing a spark.
I always like to go back to the beginning of a story as Jumping in half way through can cause bias. "Who caused the Dark Fleet?" - "What Action created the environment that could use and would prefer to use old unmarked ships?" - Was it American Sanctions that stopped a lot of ships from getting insurance and having to go Dark? - So now there was a Need for the Dark Fleet that wasn't there before - Who Owns the problem? They used the same principle on they're war against drugs - only you lose control as soon as you make something illegal and in the case of the oil they just lost an old tub that wasn't registered to enter a Port therefore made the perfect inexpensive Dark Ship. Remember a Dark ship could be found and stolen and it's cargo taken to another country so this ship was very low value and had probably made it's money hundreds of times over. Now last time I commented you reported me and for what? Being Right. Lets not do that again.
My thoughts exactly. Sanctions are the mother of invention. Look at the current Russian situation. Sanctions never hurt South Africa, it just made them more self suffient.
Believe me Everything the USA has done in the last 150 years is a mistake - there is not one Good Thing anyone can pull up that has come out of the USA in the last 200 years that has not been turned into a Weapon. Proof this world has been at WWIII for 2 years ... at least ... THE _UGLY_K1VV1
Thank you for your reporting, it’s simply amazing the information that you bring forth and what’s really happening on our planet. This just proves a point that sanctions don’t really stop countries from getting what they need. Wether or not people want to believe that the planet operates on refined crude oil or not. You and people who understand how the world operates know that crude oil is the major source.
First was Russian pipeline and now this. Every time one of the powers is in trouble it creates chaos around the world to distract attention from problems at home.
Almost every time I'm watching one of your videos I'll think of a question about the topic you're discussing but before I can type it here you've already answered it.
3:26 I don't know if this means anything but if you look at the ship there appears to be a dent or indentation. If you work forward from the back of the ship, just prior to where the sun starts to shine on the hull (or below where there is a break in the smoke and you can see sky rather than smoke) you will see what appears to be a large dent in the part that is painted black. Apologies, its kind of difficult to language where its located. Is that a dent or just a trick of light?
If I'm looking at the same thing (slightly forward of the superstructure) it looks like it's bulging outwards. Given that much of the smoke is coming from there I'd say an explosion in the oil tank might have happened there.
The straits of Sungapore are very dangerous My tanker was coming around the corner and had another ship cutting the corner who would have T-boned us if we hadn'g gone hard over. I was relaxing and had to stand up and look out the port to see what just almost happened
Sal, we trust you for all things shipping. But when it comes to explaining the interaction of fires and ships nobody else on You Tube is at your level.
Does "Pablo Union Shipping Inc." operate any other vessels or is this just a shell company for this one ship amid others to obfuscate who the real owners are?
I have zero maritime experience but find this channel very important and deeply fascinating. I hope it remains afloat for a long while
Part of the global supply network.
Are you referring to the tanker or the channel?
@@bobvecchi304 The channel.
@@bobvecchi304 Come on dude don't be a clown.
I'm only here for the singing.
This may be the beginning of many such events around the world. Thank you Sal for the update.
😢😮😮
It is, but I think this one is just conciendence that was mostly on crew, not submarine operation against maritime trade.
agree... forcing ev agenda
The USA is not patrolling the seas now with destroyers. They are carrier batttle groups heavy and they are not interested in being the police of the sea any longer. Deglobalization is here.
This was a real eye-opener! I have been hearing about a hypothetical decline of "globalism" and trade happening outside of normal channels. This talk was more about finances. I hadn't even thought about its direct impact on shipping.
This has "China cutting corners" written all over it. Because of how bad their economy is, the Chinese government (CCP) is pushing the de-dollaring of the world economy in the hopes it can prop up their country's abysmal future.
Just another face of "New World Disorder"
I have absolutely no interest in shipping. I only launched this video thinking it might be about Russian oil sanctions.. Over 15 minutes later, I'm still glued to my screen, totally absorbed!! You have a captivating, informal but professional delivery and I'm hooked!! Thanks for taking the time to open the door (hatch?) for me, into the world of shipping.
SAL has years and years of ONBOARD experience, he knows his shit
Yeah he is good at it.
Thank you, Sal. Hope the crew are located. It has been a very eventful week for shipping.
Having a crew would mean they could be interrogated about the oil transfers. The guilty countries and state-run companies certainly don't want to be exposed that they are evading international sanctions.
Our planet???
Russia and China have absolutely zero concern about the planet.
😅.nj.nj.nn😮 .
X🎉 islp😊😊😊😊
@@animejanai4657 absolutely possible
Interesting. I am not maritime but I bumped into this on UA-cam. I wish the media would pick up such stories. This at sea oil transfer is a significant environmental threat. Let alone other legal issues. Well done. Respect from Australia.
Thank you!
@@wgowshipping Pablo Union is based in the Marshall Islands, which means there's a 99% chance it's US owned which is why Iran seized one of Pablo Union's ships. It's irrelevant where the ship is registered. It's who OWNS the company. Hence why the insurer is 'unknown' and the owner can't be 'located'.
This is the US itself sanction busting through shell companies to get a better grade of oil....
As soon as I heard about the large number of ship-to-ship transfers happening, and being normalized, I freaked out. So much could go wrong doing this outside of a protected harbor. If nothing else, there's no way you could deploy a boom. The ship's documentation is straight out of 007.
Keep doing the good work!
I don't understand why they are doing this. Surely it would be easier and cheaper to just simply change the name on the ship. Stick it on, peel it off. Completely safe. Takes only a few minutes. Post a lookout to make sure nobody's looking. Or do it at night. You don't even need to stop. The ships beacons can be transferred using boats. The actual ships don't even have to get to within 2km of each other.
My guess. The PABLO loaded Venezuelan crude and motored to the South China Sea where it met a coastal tanker for delivery into China. After they were done with the transfer, static electricity created during tank cleaning ignited the atmosphere in a tank. This assumes the tanker’s inert gas generator or scrubber was broken or not keeping up with demand which allowed the tank to get within flammable range. Unfortunately, I doubt we will ever know for sure the circumstances leading to the fire. Nice work Sal!
I'm betting it didn't. If it's based in the Marshall Islands, it's US owned which is why Iran seized one of Pablo Union's ships. It's irrelevant where the ship is registered. It's who OWNS the company. Hence why the insurer is 'unknown' and the owner can't be 'located'.
This is the US itself sanction busting through shell companies to get a better grade of oil....
@@evanroberts2771 Did you watch the video?
@@oldarchillies163 Indeed i did. And I take ALL sources of information with a grain of salt. His second video on this was even more informative.
The only thing I'd change is that the oil was bound for the US. I still believe being based out of the Marshall Islands and no other info being available, that the company is a shell company for a US interest. Whether it be commercial or 'black'.
Greetings from a fellow Campbell Univ grad. Just found you channel and it is very interesting even though I know nothing about shipping. Very well explained and presented.
I think it was 1974 that an "empty" tanker at a dock in Los Angeles exploded. I heard it in Van Nuys over 40 miles away.
Insurance aspect is interesting. The dark fleet or those benefiting from it obviously don't care about the risks. Can you do a segment on insurance for international shipping? We can all see from the tracking image that there are far too many ships to keep track of legitimate operations vs the "unknown owners". How do you think the industry can get a handle on things, if possible, before we get too far along and see ever larger catastrophic results? Sanctions don't work, rather they are part of the driving force behind developments. Great presentation as always.
I'm with you. Possible Insurance Claim. Shipping Orders are way down on Consumer Goods at/for many brand name item stores Worldwide.
Sanctions don't work? but obviously they do to a certain extent, Venezuela, Iran and Russia are limping along economically, and Cash strapped China picks up the black market loot, ship to ship transfers on the high seas are more costly in manpower and on shipping, it is always the same actors who carry out the dastardly deeds, they would rather do it covertly rather than obey the international rules because they don't want to play by international rules they just make their own up, I'm sure they have their own reasons but they are not very valid!?!
This simply is not true. Even without transponders, we have the resources needed to track all ships in the water. It is a simple lack of ethics and a willingness to pay for ethically managing ship operations around the world. The sad fact is, the grey markets generate more money than the losses like this ship. Everyone believes it the fault of the next sailor, officer, country, etc , and everyone washes their hands of the matter, ignoring the deaths that happen. For some, it really is just another day on the high seas.
Brainfryde: "The sad fact is, the grey markets generate more money than the losses like this ship." Given the scope of the gray market, the number of collisions, explosions etc. is not alarming. This fire seems like a gross negligence in a nearly empty ship, so the loss of cargo and environmental damage are relatively small. From the explanation in the video, a typical method to reduce oxygen in cargo tanks is to use engine exhaust, perhaps this method can leave too much oxygen in the exhaust, or requires multiple properly sequenced steps when you open the tanks in preparation for new cargo (workers need oxygen...).
Concerning insurance, I would guess that it may be conditional on inspections etc., so worthless (and thus cheap).
Thank you Sal for this very important story/issue. Prayers for the missing crew!🙏
25 years old , several names . Obviously not inerted unless oil got into the ballast tanks and they exploded. Whatever obviously not a well run vessel
So life is cheap and the environment suffers too. I really got it and appreciate that i actually got it and followed it. Thank you.
Thanks Sal .. despite the gravity of this fire .. you give us hysteria free reporting , truly this is a tragedy that as you pointed out, was inevitable … I can’t believe any of the major networks don’t have you on speed dial …I guess you just make sense and they just can’t figure that out .. Thanks 😊
U will not hear the Communist State and Israeli controlled news networks mention more than the happenings that is about it. That is how things are going to remain until the Chicoms and Jews release our news media from their strangle hold. But it will take WWIII to make that a reality.
It seriously should be more common.
No doubt. Common sense no longer lives in media
The major networks would definitely NOT want this covered.
Pablo Union is based in the Marshall Islands, which means there's a 99% chance it's US owned which is why Iran seized one of Pablo Union's ships. It's irrelevant where the ship is registered. It's who OWNS the company. Hence why the insurer is 'unknown' and the owner can't be 'located'.
This is the US itself sanction busting through shell companies to get a better grade of oil....
That's because mainstream media isn't there to tell you whats happening - its there to sell you a narrative.
Thank you Doctor. You do a great service to those of us following. I've been with you since the start and I'm glad I have. I have learned a lot here.
That's why the Yorktown in WW2 survived, because after the planes fueled and took off, all the fuel was pumped out of the piping system and filled with inert gas.
The Japanese hit the Yorktown hard, but there were no mayor explosions, fire that could sink the ship.
It was able to limp back to the nearest port, make repairs and go back to fight!
All it did was burn out residue oil lining. The only way that a fire could have started was a faulty pump. However, you are right about replacing the volume with a nitrogen. I would fathom that they didn't have any gas for the tanks. I'm also questioning how this vessel is being used. It sounds like it was moving undocumented cargo.
I discovers you yesterday and already so many interesting things are happening 🤯 Thank you for your great expertise 🙏 I’m glad I found your channel
Thanks for the very good overview of not only this incident, but the complexity of modern shipping regulation and oversight.
In the 70's I sailed on many VLCC tankers. Often when 'tank washing' whilst in ballast conditions you could hear 'thunderstorms' due to static buildup. The water wash system . known as 'Butterworths' was grounded but the actual 'in tank environment' would have too much Oxygen that allowed static flashing in the steamy vaporized water droplets! The Chevron Tanker I worked on in Singapore : James E O'Brien' suffered a similar explosion later in its working life!
Are so incredibly informative, timely and educational. Thank you 👍👍👍👍
If we hurry up and clumsily repeal the Jones Act we too can have more ships like this in American ports and waterways. 🧐
Ummm H@#$& NO!!!!
The Jones Act doesn’t prevent these ship’s docking in US ports - it just prevents them travelling BETWEEN US ports.
We want that tho
You can also add Russian oil to the the list of thing being transferred to other boats in international water, thought they have been doing more in isolated area where NO ONE can see them, but that's happening too, and I'm sure there's some the off Indonesian too.
Assumptions…no facts
This reminded me of the Tanker explosion in LA Harbor back in the 70's. It was also caused by explosive gas buildup in the tanks, Found the ship name SS Sansinena. They were still talking about it when I moved into the Marina's. It broke almost every facing window in San Pedro.
Brilliant reporting built on excellent research and presented professionally. Thank you so much for the education and insight. My world has expanded because of your fine effort.
The learning curve is always high by watching your program. Thank you for your work.
So, there have been missing passenger jets in this region, Submarine grounding, near collisions of warships, cargo ships harassed, there is something much more sinister amiss in this region
You’re not the bringer of bad news just relaying it as we don’t hear. I’m aware how much happens yet many don’t.
Keep it up 👍
Seems like the ship did not meet classification standards and were dropped by several companies for a similar reason(s) ...
One other fire cause could be a result of tank cleaning associated with a flammable atmosphere and tool-spark combination.
Sal, you have your hands full of errant ship tales and events ... imo you are doing a great job. Thank you for the videos.
Can't get this perspective from any news outlets! Thanks Sal. I look forward to all your videos!
you do this well. thank you. a very unique offering. educational and actually vital understandings to be found through you.
With the amount of buckling on the port side of the vessel, it looks like either the aft most cargo tank (6P?) or the slop tank exploded. If the tanks had been inerted as per ISGOTT to below 8% O2, this cannot happen due to lack of oxygen. My guess as to cause would be sloppy gasfreeing procedures, tank cleaning in an unsafe atmosphere, or even repair works in a tank that was not properly gasfreed.
Chinese ships avoiding laws and regulations? Shocked I say just shocked.
I highly encourage everyone to read the book: The Outlaw Sea. It does a great job of explaining the dark fleets and corruption in shipping as a whole.
“The Outlaw Ocean” by Ian Urbana? Or “The Outlaw Sea” by Professor William Langewiesche?
Tanks on tanker trucks also have the problem. My grandfather was blown off the top of a truck that was scheduled to haul asphalt to a work site. Amazingly, the only long term effect was that the blast corrected his near sightedness.
Yes, your timing starting a maritime UA-cam channel unfortunately seems to have been good - sorry to hear about this accident. I worked on a coastwise tanker for a few months, and fire danger was always in mind. Tanks are especially dangerous when they're empty, but hopefully the O2 levels are kept below the danger point. Probably for some reason they weren't, and a spark must have set it off.
Ship to ship transfers...you called it.
This channel was started in 2011
I haven't watched you for long but have been waiting for this to happen. Thanks for shipping info.
Very educational, to say the least. I feel like I'm taking a class on-line with these videos. Keep them coming.
THEY usually use large fenders to keep the ships apart, and use their morring lines to keep together
I used to do AT SEA replenishment transfers- that is you send over a wire cable and connect the ships, then you send over the transfering hose and it's connected on the other ship, then you start pumping. ALL this is happening when the ships are moving, roughly 5 knots.
Glad for breaking news rather than none at all. You do a fine job…much gratitude….Tom
Prayers for the crew on board.
Thank Sal for your analysis an observations about this tanker. Good work.
Highly informative report. Excellent work, Sal.
Nice - though as an ex crude master mariner - think your theory on the inert gas system causing muti tank fires is incorrect (can't ignite Inert gas). Because there are multiple tanks on fire , I suspect cargo tanks where not inerted sufficently (or kept over rich with hydrocarbons) to ensure tank atmosphere is always below or above the flammable limits and they have tried to tank wash (probably hot wash). The hot washing can be done with oil from the slops tanks and being steam heated - but I suspect they may have used fresh water - which causes oxygenation in the tank atmospheres ( if your Ig gas system is not run) and once the Hydrocarbon and oxygen level reaches the flammable range if they used water it becomes a a static electricity charged ( caused by blasting water through the COW system ie friction of water under pressure). Hence the ignition of multi tanks at once. Otherwise can't see how you ignite Multiple tanks through the multi cargo line valves, or through , Pressure/ Vacuum vent lines, or an IG system which has a water trap in in also in the cargo room ( which I see is not on fire). Be interesting to see the incident report if one come out.
This is the first I see you in a very long time! Great to see you again! Thank You!
Amazing. Good reporting Sal. I'm in the Philippines and this was news to me. Black fleet, dark fleet, ghost fleet what ever it is all the countries are involved in it. Crazy stuff but the players will find ways to get around the rules.
Thanks for the very comprehensive analysis and close examination of this unfortunate incident that the industry can learn about such vessels operating within the “dark fleets” of the maritime world.
Question Sal, Could a country regulate ship to ship transfers and/or the passage of these "Dark Fleet" vessels that lack documentation, in their 200 Mile Exclusive Economic Zones. It seems to me that if they can regulate fishing and oil drilling, they should be able to regulate oil transfers at sea, between vessels because of the potential of environmental harm to the marine environment in their Exclusive Economic Zones??? Plus they are doing business (transfers) in the EEC. Thoughts. Also why are insurers not raising rates or refusing to insure these "Dark Vessels" and similar ships that lack minimum safety standards, etc.
Such ship operators SELF INSURE. Typical insurance overhead is around 40-50% of operating cost.
The tanks are empty hence far more likely to ignite than when they are full.
The old "stray cigarette" joke might actually be true.
Thank you.
I trade crude oil and need this in my feeds!!! SUBSCRIBED!!! I do agree also that this is just the beginning and we're going to see more and more of these kinds of disasters. We have not by any measure seen the worst of it!!! And singapore needs to rethink it's alliance with china. It's on the wrong side of the trade and doesn't know it.... yet. They were no doubt, bought off (bribed). That money will prove to be useless, dirty and covered in blood.
I know it was said in jest at the end but the next ship will explode or worse there will be a collision and leak the will get to the Malaysian coast resulting in an environmental catastrophe. Thanks for this report and for spreading the word to folks who maybe are unaware of the risk these dark fleet ships represent.
One would think the metal ship is grounded. I'd consider a line between ships with a slack loop cable that is grounded in the ocean and connected ship to ship. I bet they ran out of gas and one never knows. Helicopters have the same issue and they have a cable to the ship in the water and a wood stick with a cable and hook that discharges and maintains the balance. Something is afoot in this ship explosion.
Oil transfer lines need grounding between segments or else you can get static discharges inside the pipeline.
Electrical faults, welding or even static off clothing are another sources of ignition.
Ship to Ship is the only thing needed, since they are where the spark will come from, ocean water has nothing to do with it
They are NOT going to be INERTING the tanks with crewmembers IN THERE cleaning, only afterwards, looks like the crew caused the explosion when down in the unclean tanks
@@InMyBrz Ocean water is very conductive and will effect a solid ground. So if either ship had static it conducts to salt water. That is how submarines do it.
I've heard a bit about the ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, such as what North Korea has done for years. I would think that the nations adversely affected by this (such as Malaysia's coast guard, fishing industries), would press for international measures to diminish the utility (& value) of such ships. For example, #1) Any ship that performs an STS transfer MUST only do so with ships that ARE ALSO compliant. #2) Any STS transfer MUST leave BOTH of their AIS transmitters on. #3) Each COUNTRY is PUBLICLY GRADED based on their enforcement against importing or exporting with vessels conforming to these standards. So if China allows ships engaged in 'dark' STS transfers, it imposes some level of shame and possible cost premiums.
Previous owners were from India. Current owners unknown. Gabon flag. How is it China's reponsibility. I have some doubts as to whether even Malaysia has the authority to stop it seeing as these ships were in Singapore port's outer anchorage, outside of Malaysian territorial waters.
@@danielch6662 I did NOT say this event was China's responsibility. I selected China as an example because they have used 'dark' ship-to-ship transfers. As for Malaysia, you again missed the point I was trying to make. I cited Malaysia as an example because in this specific instance, they will be adversely impacted. The purpose of my suggestions was some possible steps to curtail shipping that lacks common safety inspections and adherence. It is analogous to steps most countries take, say for someone who lands ashore, and seeks employment as a surgeon. At a minimum, proof of a properly accredited level of certification is standard practice.
New to the page and learning about how countries are skirting sanctions. Great job by the host.
Like it or not, You are my trusted news about shipping, which has so many implications! Thanks, I'm glad you got involved as you seam honest, without personal opinion.. Aloha to you!🤙😎
Thank you for your work . My Dad operated the largest tanker fleet on the Great Lakes . Cheers and be safe
Hello. I jumped on board with the Ohio River barge situation. This shipping thing is outside my realm and quite confusing but probably is something that I need to follow. Thank you for your coverage.
Thanks for the coverage in this topic, empty tankers exploding with uncontrolled product transfers, probably on non insured vessels , I hope these shady operators can get shut down and brought to justice, the ecosystem is in enough danger already
This will still just be the 1st of these. The structural causes remain in place for why these transfers are taking place. The only questions are how many more times this will happen, and what the geofinancial and geopolitical reactions will be.
Sal,
I tried emailing you to keep this out of public comments but your email service rejected my email. First, I want to say I appreciate your videos. You are covering topics of interest to a great many people. I have, however, noticed that there is an inconsistency with the sound and video being out of sync on your videos. This typically occurs when using a capture device capturing video and audio through a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Most video capture devices have settings for adjusting the audio lag typically by the second or fraction of seconds. One technique to resolve the problem is to do a short test where you clap your hands while recording. On playback, you can determine the time delay, either plus or minus, and make that correction in your capture software. Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos and only offer this as constructive criticism in hopes of making them even better.
My email is mercoglianosal@gmail.com
@@Skarry i too came here too comment just that. @Gilkey_Graphics i wish people would help others as you respectfully just did, instead of bashing and hating for the audio being slightly out of sync. world need more of you
You're cool. Good looking out
With this guy? I'm by far more interested in the content of what he's revealing to us than his technical audio/video abilities - urgent priorities are of most importance you know...and audio/video lag ain't one of 'em!
@@cammieg4381 My initial intent was to contact Sam by the email address he lists. Unfortunately his email server rejected my email. I accept that you are willing to overlook technical errors in a video stream. I have accepted them in multiple videos. But if he wants his channel to grow, audio/video needs to be in sync. I offered constructive comments to help him grow his channel. I regret that doing so offended you but my belief is that you need to know what your problems are in order to resolve them.
Good call Sal, thankyou.
Just curious, how could a steel ship sitting in salt water not automatically be grounded?
Wdy mean . Salt water conducts electricity
@@WorldIsWierd exactly! That’s what a “ground” is supposed to do, conduct electricity to the ground (as copper wires do).
it is grounded
Thank you for exposing this. Main stream media sucks!
Thanks Ken!
It'll turn up there for sure. But buried deep unless you happen to live in Malaysia or Singapore.
PS: 1 May is a public holiday in both countries. Labour Day.
This is is exactly what Peter Zeihan has been warning of for more than a year. Ship to ship transfers are a disaster waiting to happen.
Exactly
Waiting for this one! Peter is so right!
Had this happened off the coast of Spain amd been a Russian chartered ship, it would be the endnof Russian sea exported oil
Disaster or not, there is still enough incentive to continue. The only thing that will stop it is widespread poracy which the lawless behavior will foster.
Illegal sanctions are a disaster that are irresponsible.
Can’t locate the “Shipper“ because it’s an anonymous Russian shell company.
Another big optical indicator which speaks for a gas/air explosion you can see @ 3:24 how the the flank of the ship looks crumbled like someone played with an empty coke can.
I saw int he chemical industry train tank wagons being crushed from the outer air pressure as they were emptied but someone forgot to open the valve to allow to equalize the pressure when the fluid inside gets drained but no air can rush in. Quickly the outer air pressure can crush such a wagon like you can with an empty soda can.
Allowing air in to equalize pressure is one thing. By flammable content at large tanks like on tankers you need to replace the outside the air with an inert gas to not give remaining fumes from oil, fuel, etc. can form an explosive mix as you mentioned.
Not letting ANY gas into a tank being emptied can crush them from the outside air pressure, but so can also a combustion inside and the volume of the gas turning from flammable fumes and air (the oxygen in it) which leads still to some crushing from the outside air which explains the crumbled ship side. Such combustion's can be violent by bending of torn metal to the outside. But often without a typical explosion, depending on the amount of oxygen and 'fuel' for the combustion. The weakest link of such tanks aboard is usually the parts where the tanks get fueled, resp. on the top of the deck. That's why all the smoke is on the top were the pressure reduction in this case 'just' let to a deformation of the ship hull but hopefully not to any tears to pollute the water.
I hope this helped a bit.
Articulate, informative & no waffle. Great video 👍
Sal,
Your video was very informative. You raised as many questions as you answered.
One error you made is your comment on grounding the ship. At sea, there is nowhere to connect a grounding wire. Even if there were, there is a question as to whether they would work. Terminals require a ground wire to be in place before cargo transfer. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, when inert gas systems were being retrofitted on older tankers research showed to ground a tanker the wire size needed would require wires orders of magnitude larger than those being used.
The tanker was not inert based on the fact it was on fire. Based on the limited number of photos it does not appear that there was an explosion. While it appears that the entire cargo block was burning, there is no visual sign there was an explosion.
Based on the fact the tanker was very light my guess was they were water-washing the tanks. If this was the case they might have had the tanks open for portable "Butterworth" washing machines to supplement fixed cleaning machines. If portable machines were being used the tanks would be open. Assuming that they were water washing, they would most likely be recirculating wash water from the "dirty" slop tank to the "clean" slop tank and back to the tank washing machines to the cargo tanks. If the slop tank water is not properly decanted then you can be washing with a combination of water and oil which can be statically charged.
What makes little sense is why would they be tank-washing. Based on the size of the vessel it is a crude oil tanker. If it is carrying different crude types you would normally crude oil wash. You would strip back to the slop tank and practice load-on-top. Water-washing would not be required. Water washing would be done for tank entry or before a shipyard visit.
After all that speculation I can say I have been on a ship after it had exploded. And, I have stopped the discharge of a tanker that was not properly inserted. This tanker was an old steam ship that was showing visible indication that the stack gas was not below 8% O2. On inspection the oxygen analyzer was inoperative and the readout was stuck at 8%. Nothing would surprise me.
Regulations require that the oxygen content of the tanks be measured at different levels in the tanks. If a tanker is in the process of gas freeing the tanks should be purged with inert gas until the hydrocarbon content is below the lower explosive limit (LEL). It should then be gas freed until the oxygen content has reached 21%.
As you have indicated there are far more questions than answers.
Bob
Interesting. Waiting for the geopolitical ramifications. Thanks.
I … what? There are so many questions… first one … if countries own 12 nautical miles from coast, who governs beyond that? Also - I don’t know almost everything about shipping. I CAN see hundreds of ship dots every time you bring up that locator map. If 10% of the total planets fleet is “dark”, then a) that is not a small number and b) the money attached to that must be in the billions. Thank you so much for all the education you provide on every episode. You make a material contribution how I see the world. 👍😎
Once you get past the twelve-mile limit, you are in international waters.
@@WALTERBROADDUS .......or China who bagged all the oceans, allegedly!?!
Who owns international waters? Nobody. This is what the US has been fighting for in the SCS.
PS: last year, the US seized Iran flagged tanker Lana, transfered its oil to Liberian flagged Ice Energy, and sent the oil to the US. The transfer was done ... at sea.
I think a big question not asked is: are there any usn ships in the vicinity of the 'accident' around the same time, as in certain mysterious explosion in the Baltic sea recently 😅
No one ever cuts corners when out on voyage... Everyone is always fully trained on safety procedures and regulations and all equipment is fully operational. Right?
DEFINATELY NOT on these ghost country ships, cheapest poorest trained crew
So.. underground pirate tanker catches fire exposing multiple scumy fronts?
illegal too
I don't know what has become of the international rule of law but it is kind of the wild west out in the open seas right now. Something needs to change or else we are going to start seeing oil spills and piracy becoming a very common thing again.
Mr Mercoglano, sir, you ARE A MIGHTY MIGHTY MAN. . So much fascinating ,cogently expressed Dark Fleet shipping gen. On the Dumra during '67 INDO/PAK War
Wait! You have a steel ship sitting in salt water and you still need to ground it?!? To what?
You have ground the inside of the tank to prevent sparks.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-inert-gas-ig-system-ships-john-kingsley/
Fuel moving through a hose or pipe can produce a static charge similar to when you run your feet back and forth on a synthetic carpet. The fuel transfer system needs to be grounded to the tank to prevent the build up of this charge producing a spark.
Cynically, the anchor chain.
The 1974 book Supertanker has a long discussion about tanker explosions.
Thanks Sal, watching you on holiday in France.
I always like to go back to the beginning of a story as Jumping in half way through can cause bias. "Who caused the Dark Fleet?" - "What Action created the environment that could use and would prefer to use old unmarked ships?" - Was it American Sanctions that stopped a lot of ships from getting insurance and having to go Dark? - So now there was a Need for the Dark Fleet that wasn't there before - Who Owns the problem?
They used the same principle on they're war against drugs - only you lose control as soon as you make something illegal and in the case of the oil they just lost an old tub that wasn't registered to enter a Port therefore made the perfect inexpensive Dark Ship.
Remember a Dark ship could be found and stolen and it's cargo taken to another country so this ship was very low value and had probably made it's money hundreds of times over.
Now last time I commented you reported me and for what? Being Right. Lets not do that again.
My thoughts exactly. Sanctions are the mother of invention. Look at the current Russian situation. Sanctions never hurt South Africa, it just made them more self suffient.
Believe me Everything the USA has done in the last 150 years is a mistake - there is not one Good Thing anyone can pull up that has come out of the USA in the last 200 years that has not been turned into a Weapon.
Proof this world has been at WWIII for 2 years ... at least ...
THE _UGLY_K1VV1
Thank you for your reporting, it’s simply amazing the information that you bring forth and what’s really happening on our planet. This just proves a point that sanctions don’t really stop countries from getting what they need. Wether or not people want to believe that the planet operates on refined crude oil or not. You and people who understand how the world operates know that crude oil is the major source.
What a mess.
But hey, it's one of the things us humans do best
All in a day's work.
Prayers for the crew.
Thanks Sal.
I agree with you Eddie. Amidst tankers, oil, money, geopolitics, etc, the lives of sailors are often forgotten except by the families.
This is the future of the flag-of-convenience fleet
First was Russian pipeline and now this. Every time one of the powers is in trouble it creates chaos around the world to distract attention from problems at home.
Thanks for a thorough explanation of how these tankers are operating outside maritime law.
Almost every time I'm watching one of your videos I'll think of a question about the topic you're discussing but before I can type it here you've already answered it.
3:26 I don't know if this means anything but if you look at the ship there appears to be a dent or indentation. If you work forward from the back of the ship, just prior to where the sun starts to shine on the hull (or below where there is a break in the smoke and you can see sky rather than smoke) you will see what appears to be a large dent in the part that is painted black. Apologies, its kind of difficult to language where its located. Is that a dent or just a trick of light?
If I'm looking at the same thing (slightly forward of the superstructure) it looks like it's bulging outwards. Given that much of the smoke is coming from there I'd say an explosion in the oil tank might have happened there.
@@henrikgiese6316 I agree. The hull is definitely bulged in the area of its after tank.
Clear and concise reporting, thank you
thank you Sir , another great show. i hole the other boats find the missing crew alive and well.,,
Watching from the Philippines. Appreciate your discussions of shipping logistics.
I very much appreciate this superb reportage. I've sailed many of those waters. I wonder how long until there is a collision?
The straits of Sungapore are very dangerous
My tanker was coming around the corner and had another ship cutting the corner who would have T-boned us if we hadn'g gone hard over.
I was relaxing and had to stand up and look out the port to see what just almost happened
The algorithm brought me! I have subbed. Amazing how many of the Russia channels that I have talked about have mentioned something like this.
great detail......who insured Pable....track them down
Working on that
Sal, Thanks so much for this video. I had know idea this kind of thing was going on. More . . ."unintended consequences". I suppose.
Grimly fascinating, so Pirate Oil Tankers. Imagine the Crew conditions, could perhaps be slave like. Very very interesting.
This was very informative. Thank you, sir. :)
Sal, we trust you for all things shipping. But when it comes to explaining the interaction of fires and ships nobody else on You Tube is at your level.
I hope this doesn't turn into an excuse for escalating conflict.
Does "Pablo Union Shipping Inc." operate any other vessels or is this just a shell company for this one ship amid others to obfuscate who the real owners are?
Trying to track that very question down.
No, yes, in that order.
@@danielch6662 Thank you random YT comments guy.
Wow this is a super interesting site glad I stumbled upon it, it is pretty cool.
This is so important! Thank you for sharing 🌻
Glad it was helpful!