Risk of accidents in focus as 39;shadow39; fleet grows
Stirs fears of oil spills, decades after Exxon Valdez
Hundreds of ships carry oil from sanctioned nations
Many ship certifiers and insurers have pulled services

LONDON, March 23 Reuters An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Another is caught in a collision near Cuba. A third is seized in Spain for drifting out of control.

These vessels were part of a shadow fleet of tankers carrying oil last year from countries hit by Western sanctions, according to a Reuters analysis of ship tracking and accident data and interviews with more than a dozen industry specialists.

Hundreds of extra ships have joined this opaque parallel trade over the past few years as a result of rising Iranian oil exports as well as restrictions imposed on Russian energy sales over the war in Ukraine, said the industry players, who include commodity traders, shipping companies, insurers and regulators.

The risk of having an accident is definitely going up, said Eric Hanell, CEO of tanker operator Stena Bulk. We might be affected being at a port … because someone is running into us or loses control, which is a much bigger risk on those kinds of ships because they are older and not as wellmaintained.

Many leading certification providers and engine makers that approve seaworthiness and safety have withdrawn their services from ships carrying oil from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela, as have a host of…