(Bloomberg) – Estonian navy boarded a Russian-bound ship in the Baltic Sea on Friday and suspected that it belonged to Moscow’s shadow fleet, which promoted illegal trade in Russian oil.
Estonian naval commander Ivo Vark said at a press conference in Tallinn that the tanker Kiwala, with 24 people including the Chinese captain, is currently anchored in Estonia’s territorial waters, which have been approved by the EU and others for illegal activities.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Chiwara was the first shadow fleet detained in Estonia, and its detention proved that efforts to coordinate efforts to resolve the illegal trade in Russian oil are paying off.
The Baltic Sea has become a flash point after it has been detained in recent months for suspected tearing off submarine telecommunications cables. The Baltic states have also increased scrutiny of unregistered “shadow” tankers due to concerns about ratification of Russian oil, with Estonia regularly checking the insurance status of passing ships since last year.
Transport data from Bloomberg shows Kiwala will be loaded at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia.
“We initially had reason to suspect that the ship lacked the flag state and insurance,” Wacker said in a press conference. During the same event, Deputy Chief of Police Veiko Kommusaar said: “In fact, such vessels are actually allowed to travel.”
Estonian authorities say the detention of Kiwara has nothing to do with damage to the seabed infrastructure.
– Assistance by Julian Lee.
(Updated using ship tracking data in paragraph 5)
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