Russians have begun taking measures to prevent the seizure of tankers in the Baltic Sea.
Estonia has officially stated its refusal to detain vessels of the Russian “shadow fleet” in its waters due to the critically high risk of direct military confrontation with the Russian Federation.
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Reuters.
The Estonian Navy command explained its decision by the critically high risk of direct military confrontation with Russia. Moscow has started to escort oil tankers with military ships.
The cautious stance of Estonia is due to an incident that occurred in May 2025. At that time, Estonian forces attempted to stop a flagless tanker that was violating sanctions. However, Russia sent a fighter jet into the air, which entered NATO airspace and escorted the vessel into Russian territorial waters.
“Since then, Moscow has begun constant patrolling with two or three armed military vessels in the Gulf of Finland and has deployed more ships in other parts of the Baltic Sea along the routes used by tankers transporting Russian oil,” the publication writes, citing the words of the commander of the Estonian Navy, Ivo Vark.
At the same time, due to successful attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian ports, loading schedules have been disrupted. In Estonia’s exclusive economic zone, the number of waiting tankers has tripled to 30-40 vessels.
“The risk of military escalation is simply too high. The Russian presence in the Gulf of Finland has become much more apparent,” Vark noted.
The United Kingdom, France, and Belgium are actively detaining old Russian tankers in the Atlantic and the North Sea, where the presence of the Russian Navy is minimal. Estonia, on the other hand, is “in the crosshairs” of Russian coastal forces, the publication adds.
The situation with the seizure of tankers from the “shadow fleet”
Meanwhile, it has recently become known that the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom has not seized a single Russian tanker from the “shadow fleet.” This is due to concerns that such actions could violate international law.
France, as part of its fight against the Russian “shadow fleet,” plans to double the prison terms and fines for vessels that sail under false flags or ignore stop orders.
Meanwhile, on April 3, the Swedish Coast Guard detained the sanctioned tanker “Flora 1,” which is suspected of spilling oil in the Baltic Sea. The tanker, which had 24 people on board, was anchored near the city of Ystad.
