CHEM NICHOLAS

During the enforcement of the G7 and EU embargo and price cap on russian oil and petroleum products, the tanker CHEM NICHOLAS has been actively engaged in the export of russian-origin oil and petroleum products. Its operations include ship-to-ship (STS) transfers conducted near European countries.
The vessel regularly disables its Automatic Identification System (AIS) and engages in dark activity in the area of the Kerch Strait and near russian ports in the Black Sea. The tanker has made port calls at terminals in the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine, including the port of Kamysh-Burun in May 2025.
In March 2025, the vessel departed laden from the russian port of Tuapse, where a production facility – comprising the Tuapse Oil Refinery and a maritime terminal, owned by the sanctioned PJSC "NK "Rosneft" (ПАО "НК "Роснефть") – is located. In April 2025, in waters in the vicinity of Cyprus, CHEM NICHOLAS carried out STS transfers with two tankers: IMO 9607643 and IMO 9247443. The latter had operated between July 2024 and May 2025 as an offshore STS hub for russian oil and petroleum products in the vicinity of Greece and Cyprus. These cargoes were primarily shipped from the russian ports of Tuapse, Novorossiysk, and the Taman transshipment complex. Since May 2025, the tanker IMO 9247443 has been subject to sanctions.
Earlier, in August 2023, on behalf of GMS Trading Middle East DMCC, CHEM NICHOLAS transported a cargo of nearly 30,000 metric tons of russian petroleum products from Tuapse to Turkey. The sanctioned russian company PJSC "NK "Rosneft" acted as the consignor.