Oil tanker known to deliver oil to Israel set to leave Turkey
An oil tanker that is known to frequently deliver crude oil to Israel is set to leave the Turkish port of Ceyhan for an “unknown destination”, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Researchers from the Palestinian Youth Movement and No Harbour for Genocide, using commercial trading and tracking data, said the Nissos Tinos docked in Ceyhan on 4 October to load 33,830 tonnes of crude oil and is scheduled to depart on 6 October at 6:38am local time.
While the vessel’s final destination is currently unknown, satellite imagery and automatic identification system data (AIS) – a tracking system that uses transceivers on ships – revealed that its last two journeys were crude oil deliveries to Israel.
The tanker previously left Ceyhan on 23 September, arriving in the Israeli port of Ashkelon on 25 September, the data showed. On 10 September, it left Russia’s Novorossiysk and arrived in Israel on 20 September.
Ceyhan is the last stop on the BP-owned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which transports crude oil from Azerbaijan. The oil is then shipped from the Heydar Aliyev Terminal at Ceyhan to Israel, accounting for almost 30 percent of its crude oil imports.
An Energy Embargo for Palestine investigative report
As with previous oil shipments to Israel tracked by the researchers, the Nissos Tinos turns its tracking system off once it leaves the port, meaning its journey is not recorded by shipping data.
‘Israel could not fuel their military without these high volume oil imports from Turkish ports’
– researcher, Palestinian Youth Movement
Despite this, the researchers are able to piece together the vessel’s trip using AIS data and satellite imagery to locate the tanker at Ceyhan, and then satellite imagery again at Ashkelon, when the vessel has turned its AIS off.
Using commercial tracking data, which indicates how much oil the tanker is projected to load and its “draft” (which determines the vessel’s weight) when it arrives or departs from a port, researchers can determine when a boat has loaded and unloaded its cargo.
When tracking previous shipments from Turkey to Israel, the researchers could identify that the ship’s draft upon arrival in Ashkelon was different to when it left Ceyhan – suggesting it had unloaded its cargo.
After leaving Ceyhan on 23 September with a draft of 15.6 metres, the Nissos Tinos declared its destination as “Port Said, Egypt”. It then sailed south towards Haifa and turned its tracker off on 24 September. It then reappeared three days later on 27 September heading north with a draft of 9.6 metres.
On 26 September, satellite imagery revealed the vessel docked at Ashkelon.
One of many shipments
Researchers said they also suspected that another tanker, the Kimolos, had recently replicated this pattern – leaving the port of Ceyhan on 27 September, stating its destination as Port Said, and then reappearing at Ashkelon after turning its tracker off.
They noted that the Kimolos is listed among 36 ships on No Harbour for Genocide’s “blocklist”, which identifies vessels that have consistently supplied arms and fuel to Israel throughout its genocide in Gaza.
Despite Turkey imposing a trade embargo on Israel in May 2024, analysis by the Stop Fueling Genocide campaign revealed “routine shipments” of crude oil between Turkey and Israel in November last year.
The researchers say the new analysis suggests that oil shipments from Ceyhan to Israel are continuing unabated, despite Ankara announcing further sanctions against Israel on 29 August, including closing its airspace to Israeli aircraft and the banning Israeli ships from Turkish ports.
“This is not just one shipment but one of many. The transfers occur multiple times a month, supplying hundreds of kilotonnes of oil. Israel could not fuel their military without these high volume oil imports from Turkish ports,” researchers from Palestinian Youth Movement told Middle East Eye.
They added that by allowing the Nissos Tinos to dock at its port, the Turkish government was violating the pledge it made at the Hague Group’s emergency meeting in July.
The Hague group had committed to preventing “the transit, docking, and servicing of vessels at any port…where there is a clear risk of the vessel being used to carry arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel”.
The Turkish energy ministry has repeatedly denied that any oil tankers bound for Israel have left Ceyhan since May, stating that “companies transporting oil through the BTC pipeline for export to global markets from Haydar Aliyev Terminal have respected Turkiye’s recent decision not to engage in trade with Israel.”
In August, Reuters reported that Turkish port authorities had begun requesting written assurances from shipping agents that vessels have no links with Israel. Reportedly, these instructions were issued verbally, with no official communication circulated.
In May 2024, the United Nations International Trade Statistics Database released data which found that Turkey was Israel’s fifth-largest exporter in 2024, despite Ankara’s total ban on trade.
In September 2024, data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly revealed that Turkish exports to Israel had continued following the ban, with commerce redirected through third countries like Greece.
