Schmuggel von Ol, ist 30 Jahre Tradition in Albanien

According to data obtained by BIRN, Porto Romano, a privately-owned and operated port that specialises in oil imports, has repeatedly been the destination for imports of oil products originating from countries subject to United Nations, European Union or United States sanctions.

The Aya Zanoubya had docked at the same port just three weeks prior, in mid-December, again citing a technical defect that had prevented the boat from continuing to its declared destination. Again, its declared cargo was cement.

Experts say there is a good chance the contraband cargo seized in January originated in Russia, which has faced escalating Western sanctions since its 2014 annexation of Crimea and, in particular, its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia is the main country of origin,” said Lorenzo Bagnoli, head of the Investigative Reporting Project Italy, IRPI, which has been tracking illicit oil product transfers in the Mediterranean since 2016.

“Libya is the second source but about a third of all smuggled oil is of Russian provenance.”

Albanian State Police did not respond to a request for comment, but a police officer in the port of Durres said the smuggling of oil products usually involves false cargo declarations to suggest legitimate trade and the choice of ports where checks are lax.

“However, this can hardly pass without officials being bribed,” the officer said on condition of anonymity.

On the run

Fishing boats in Durres Port. Photo: Ermal Vija

Photographs of the ships on the internet show two ageing vessels, the Besart’s blue paint fading and dotted with rust. The Besart was launched in 1981, the Aya Zanoubya even earlier, in 1977.

Both are registered in Tanzania, known for accepting into its sea registry boats owned by non-residents. The name ‘Besart’ means ‘promise’ in Albanian.

Indeed, prosecutors say both ships were chartered by a company called Batimarine Owner Ship, based in the Albanian port of Durres.

The Besart’s caption, Syrian national Mohammed Kahilah, told investigators that the voyage began in Tunisia with 100 tons of cement, but that he was also ordered to fill the ballast tanks with just over 400,000 litres of diesel by Batimarine Owner Ship administrator Eduart Skora, who told him it was needed to tow another ship.

Skora, an Albanian citizen, was arrested on January 26 when he crossed from Kosovo into Albania. He denied any wrongdoing, telling investigators variously that the diesel had leaked into the ballast tanks and that he needed a lot of fuel for a 98-day journey to Tanzania.

Skora also said that he personally was responsible for what was on the ship, not Batimarine Owner Ship or the company’s ultimate owner, Florian Biba.

Skora had a previous connection to Libya: in 2017, a ship he owned was seized by armed men in Libya and its crew held hostage for 34 days; he told media he paid a $34,000 ransom to secure the release of the crew and the ship.

Biba, the registered owner of Batimarine Owner Ship and a Swiss citizen of Albanian origin, could not be reached for comment.

The Customs Agent that dealt with the Aya Zanoubya, however, was paid by an oil trader called Juxhin Koka, leading prosecutors in Durres to suspect that Koka and another man, Serxhio Sula, had bought the Aya Zanoubya through an offshore company and organised the smuggling of the at least 200,000 litres of diesel found on board.

Both are on the run from arrest warrants issued against them.

After the Aya Zanoubya was seized in Porto Romano, Koka is suspected of paying a 10,000-euro bribe to the police officer assigned to guard it and then siphoning off the illicit cargo.