By Michael Grey*
“Is it legal?” This was a question asked by a friend when we learned of the news that President Trump’s agile forces had seized a large tanker off Venezuela and several of us, including a distinguished maritime lawyer, were rather stumped for an answer.
But a week later when this is being written, he had grabbed another four, including the vessel that refused to stop and high-tailed for Murmansk. That surely was purely performative, as the ship was old and empty and in financial terms, the exercise, involving warships and fleet auxiliaries, refuelling aircraft, helicopters, desperate experts in rappelling and probably submarines beneath the surface, must have cost many times what the rusting VLCC was worth.
But if you are trying to make the political point that “you can run, but you can’t hide”, it was probably worth the effort and will surely be registered by all those other “dark” tanker operators. Just do what the man with a gun says and save the fuel. But as for the legality of it all, one might consider this purely academic, as sure as hell he is not going to be giving them back. A rather better question might be “never mind the legality, but was it wise?” On one hand, there can be nothing but admiration for somebody who has had the courage to confront the scandal of the dark fleet of badly maintained, out of class and probably dangerous ships, which themselves are floating advertisements for bad practice and thoroughly illegal operations.
It has gone on for too long and other than words condemning these practices, which have made nonsense of a raft of international conventions, nobody has hitherto shown willing to step out of line and do anything positive. Putting them on a sanctions list? That was a tremendous deterrent, was it not, as the AIS signals went dark, identities changed at the drop of a hat and in recent weeks, even the bother of finding some convenient African dictatorship or microstate appeared a bit pointless, when you just invented a completely fictional flag state, at no cost whatsoever. So, if the muscular US action does act as a real deterrent to blatant illegality and make the operators of these ships think twice about their actions, it will have done every law-abiding ship operator, and marine safety in general, a service.
Power trumps law?
But, bearing in mind the sort of people who are behind the sanction busters, is there not a risk that by stretching the law to breaking point and beyond, President Trump is showing that might, rather than law, reigns supreme?
Just look at which governments have in the past been happily engaged in grabbing other people’s ships; does the US wish to be listed alongside the Houthis, or the Iranians, who have a similar cavalier attitude to what we used to describe as piracy? Might this not offer some encouragement to those who have both low morals and gunboats? Doubtless there are plenty of huge legal brains available to justify the US action, mostly of a Republican shade, who will give the doubters short shrift. Being out of office, what Democrat experts might say is largely irrelevant. In practical terms, one might wonder what the US intends to do with the ships they have captured, once they have given up their cargoes. And while they have a flotilla as this is being written, by publication date, there may be a whole fleet at their disposal, if the rappellers remain active for another week.
Vessels in what might charitably be described as in the autumn of their lives, one cannot imagine them as additions to the US Strategic Reserve, or Sealift Command, where there is already a manpower crisis. Maybe they should just be scrapped, while their owners try and agree on the terms of a class action for compensation. Fat chance. And what might be next on the Trump agenda, as he maintains his grip on global headlines? We knew that he would like the Panama Canal handed back and a free passage for US ships – now he is after the same fee-free passage through Suez. Around the world, people will be anxiously scanning their Truth Social websites to discern the next emanations from the brain that seldom, if ever, sleeps.
(Photo from Instagram/dailyoverview)
*Michael Grey is former editor of Lloyd’s List. This column is published with the kind permission n of The Maritime Advocate.