An environmental disaster was narrowly averted on May 1, off the coast of Malaysia. On that day, the Pablo, an old tanker with a rusty hull capable of storing up to 700,000 barrels of oil, was sailing on calm seas just a few nautical miles from the small paradise island of Pulau Tinggi when its 232-meter-long, 42-meter-wide steel carcass was violently shaken by an explosion. "When I opened my cabin door, I saw smoke everywhere," said the ship's captain, Oleksandr Lepyoshkin, a few days later. "It looked like war, there were explosions everywhere and there was thick smoke suffocating us." Part of the hull was blown away by the explosion. Luckily, it was empty: The tanker had just unloaded its cargo in China. For three long days, the Malaysian coastguard circled helplessly around the smoking wreck, not daring to approach for fear of further explosions. Of the 28 crew members, two Indians and one Ukrainian were not found.

The Pablo intrigued the coast guards. At 27, it is unusually old for a tanker, which rarely sail for more than 20 or 25 years. On the verge of being scrapped in 2018, it was bought at the last minute by an Indian specialist in end-of-life vessels, who renamed and stripped it. It changed owners several times, was struck off by several flag states following its involvement in circumventing sanctions against Iran, before finally being registered in Gabon, a flag state known for its lax regulations.

According to data Le Monde received from Kpler, a firm specializing in maritime data analysis, the Pablo was carrying a highly polluting heavy fuel oil used as fuel or to generate electricity, especially in Asia. After a long period of transporting fuel oil from Iran, which is under sanctions, the latest shipment most probably came from Russia, according to Kpler, via several transshipments on the high seas: First in the Strait of Gibraltar, south of Spain, then near Malaysia from the vessel Ocean Hermana.

The number of clandestine vessels specialized in circumventing sanctions, like the Pablo, is increasing. According to estimates, they represent 10-20% of the total transport capacity of the world's tanker fleet, or between 300 and 600 vessels. Previously accustomed to dropping their anchors off Iran, Venezuela or North Korea, these tankers have been in high demand since the European Union imposed an embargo on Russian oil imports in December 2022. At the same time, G7 countries prohibited their companies from insuring or providing the slightest service to a company transporting Russian oil sold at over $60 a barrel. This measure was designed to prevent oil prices from escalating, while at the same time limiting Moscow's revenues. In a shipping industry where Western companies are indispensable, as in insurance and certification, it is virtually impossible for Russia to sell its oil for less than $60 unless it is transported clandestinely.

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