Four people have been charged in Norway over an alleged bogus insurance company supplying fake papers for shadow fleet vessels.
Oslo-based Ro Marine was said to have provided papers for more than 250 ships but operated illegally from an office that did not exist, and with no evidence of assets to use in case of a claim, according to news site Danwatch and Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
The company was said to be fronted by a St Petersburg-based Russian with a history of doing business in Norway, the news outlets said. The 41-year-old Russian is one of those under investigation, they added.
Police searched the home of one of the four in Oslo last week as part of an investigation into the creation and use of fake documents and unlicensed broking services, officials said.
“The police have charged four individuals; two Norwegian citizens, one Bulgarian citizen and one Russian citizen,” said Alexander Bjorvatn Oien of Oslo police. “As of today’s date, none of the individuals are in custody.”
The investigation followed a complaint by the country’s financial regulator, Finanstilsynet. The body this week issued a warning against any dealings with Ro Marine, saying it did not have a licence to offer insurance or broking services.
“Finanstilsynet warns against entering into agreements with Romarine AS and against using the services offered through the company’s websites,” it added.
The Ro Marine website remains live but does not list any ships under its vessel search facility.
The ships said to have Ro Marine documents include the 109,000-dwt Achilles (built 2008), which reportedly presented its papers to Finnish authorities in March, according to Danwatch.
The vessel left the Russian port of Primorsk earlier in March with 730,000 barrels of Urals crude, according to Kpler ship tracking data.
It is currently in the Mediterranean Sea and is expected to deliver its cargo in India, Kpler said. Its registered owner is a single-ship company in Mauritius.
The Achilles has a history of hauling Russian crude and went to the aid of the 110,000-dwt product tanker Marlin Luanda (built 2018) after it was struck by a Houthi missile in the Red Sea in January last year.
