Russian Oil Tanker Bingo – The Aleksey Kosygin Ping Pongs Between Saudi, Yemeni, Indian Ports
Update: Story Updated at 2:32PM Today to Reflect Destination Port Switch from India to Yemen Port Hudaidah, then back again to India.
Saudi Prince Mohammud bin Salman Granted Safe Harbor to Putin Tanker, Then Yanked It
Just 5 hours ago at 10:34AM EDT this morning the reflagged Russian oil tanker Aleksey Kosygin (renamed SCF Vankor) switched its AIS-broadcasted destination from India’s Port Mundra to Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) Yanbu Port (SAYNB) in the Red Sea. This port switch came just 26 hours after the tanker had ended its AIS communications blackout in the Gulf of Suez and started broadcasting the Indian destination for the first time. Now it appears it has switched back to Mundra and has sailed well down the Red Sea past Yanbu. See the destination change below from Marine Traffic.
Since Saudi Arabia certainly doesn’t need Russian oil, one likely reason MBS initially agreed to receiving Putin’s tanker is to offer it safe harbor to prevent, say, getting droned by Ukraine, or seized by the US, or the EU, or UK, or Australia, or New Zealand, all the democracies who have sanctioned Russian oil.
I have to admit I didn’t see this one coming. I had the UAE port of Dubai as the Aleksey Kosygin’s next destination. Perhaps the new US sanctions slapped on UAE and Turkish companies this week for buying sanctioned Russian oil caused a change in Putin’s plans. Perhaps MBS changed his mind because of that as well.
As MBS continues to advance his happy-happy-joy-joy relationship with Putin with this new transgression, one can only imagine what world leader’s face will be pasted on the next ball that pops out of the bingo machine.
Bingo!
In the non-game that is Russian Oil Tanker Bingo, I call on the world largest democracy India, and the middle east monarchies we supply arms and aid to, to join together to ensure that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be the one shouting BINGO! on this tanker full of Putin blood oil.
John Liccione is a candidate for US Congress in Florida’s 13th Congressional District where he is running against Anna Luna in 2024. VoteLiccione.org.
He is also Founder and CEO of RussiLeaks, an online media company solely focused on exposing Putin’s secrets and those of his agents acting on his behalf on American soil. He is also the Founder and CEO of Leaks Media, a global media company just getting started whose mission is “Exposing the Secrets of the Enemies of Democracy.”
