Ships delivering oil to Israel do not declare their destination as such when they leave Turkish ports, according to an investigative journalist citing online maritime traffic data.
Metin Cihan has shared data about the Vilamoura crude oil tanker, which loads oil in Turkey and heads towards Israel while disguising its destination.
bir skandal daha. israil'e gizli gizli yakıt yolluyoruz. vilamoura adlı tanker 21-22 aralık gece yarısı ceyhan'dan petrol yüklenip varış ülkesi olarak mısır'ı bildiriyor ama mısır'a hiç gitmiyor. tankerin lokasyon sinyali kayıtlarında görebileceğimiz gibi direkt israil'e gidiyor. pic.twitter.com/pIrNoYqykx
— metin cihan (@metcihan) December 28, 2023
Using data from MarineTraffic.com, Cihan determined that the Vilamoura departed from Ceyhan, Turkey, with its tracking system initially indicating Egypt as its destination. However, subsequent position reports from the ship showed a direct course to Israel, with no stops in Egypt. This practice has been repeatedly observed in the data.
#tanker VILAMOURA in Gibraltar #ShipsInPics #ships #shipspotting #Shipping pic.twitter.com/gU3fTYucWk
— Daniel Ferro (@Gibdan1) February 13, 2019
The vessel’s journey was meticulously documented, showing its progression through the eastern Mediterranean and its entry into areas of interest around Israel. These details, timestamped and verified through Automatic Identification System (AIS) sources, suggest a deliberate pattern of behavior among ships carrying oil from Turkey to Israel.
This may be Ankara’s way of avoiding accusations of hypocrisy for trading with Tel Aviv, which is at odds with Ankara’s strident anti-Israel rhetoric during the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Israel began pounding Gaza after Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack in the country on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks on Gaza have so far claimed the lives of more than 21,000 people, according to local authorities, in addition to leading to vast destruction in the enclave.
Although President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan uses strong rhetoric against Israel, accusing it of committing war crimes in Gaza, his government is criticized for not cutting off diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel.
An investigation by journalist Cihan has recently revealed that business between Turkish companies and Israel continues as usual despite Ankara’s harsh rhetoric towards Israel.
The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through Turkey, supplies around 40 percent of Israel’s annual oil consumption.