— Early in the morning, the Estonian Navy stopped a sanctioned ship without a flag,” said Michal in a post on social media. — Our authorities are presently on board, checking its legal position and security.
The ship was heading for the port of Ust-Ługa, a key Russian oil port in the Baltic Sea, according to the Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
Moscow commands a immense fleet of oil-exporters in the Baltic Sea, which uses to circumvent western sanctions And, as the Kiev allies say, backing war against Ukraine.
Epa/OLIVIER MATTHYS / PAPKristen Michal, Prime Minister of Estonia, at the European Council Summit. Brussels, 20 March 2025
Spectre ships frequently do not have a flag — which constitutes a violation of global maritime law — and have dubious records, and any of them are suspected of being active in files sabotage at seabed.
— It is no secret that in the last year in the Gulf of Finland, many ships that sail without adequate documentation “Veiko Kommusaar, an authoritative of the Estonian border police, quoted by the ERR, said. — And it is clear that this is part of the shadow fleet.
Western authorities have intensified efforts to take over illegal tankers and even considered sinking them. Parliament of Estonia approved on Wednesday new law authorising the national navy to usage ‘military force’ to merchant ships suspected of creating a "hazard" for offshore critical infrastructure.
In December, the Finnish authorities stopped another tanker, suspecting that it sabotaged an offshore power link linking Estonia to Finland.
