Shadow fleet aging tankers threaten major oil spill risk as sanctions trap recycling

The head of the world’s largest ship recycler warns that more than half of the sanctioned ‘shadow fleet’ oil tankers are ageing and corroding, posing a real risk of a major oil spill as sanctions block normal dismantling; there are roughly 1,800 shadow fleet ships, about 1,500 of which are oil or product tankers, and experts say at least a third should be scrapped—potentially more—though licenses have begun for limited recycling and a surge in scrapping could follow when the Strait of Hormuz reopens after a period of slowed activity.