Russian vessels without insurance will be detained, Ukraine welcomes initiative of European countries

The Prime Minister of Estonia has assured that Russian ships of the so-called shadow fleet without proper insurance will be detained.

Russian ships belonging to the “shadow fleet” will be detained or subject to sanctions if they cannot provide insurance documents. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, Reuters reports.

Recall that on the eve of 12 countries of Northern Europe reached an agreement on joint actions aimed at countering the “shadow fleet” of Russia. In particular, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland and Estonia will begin checks of insurance documents of ships in key maritime areas, such as the English Channel, the Danish Straits, the Gulf of Finland and the strait between Sweden and Denmark.

“If the ships refuse to cooperate, we will take strong measures: detention or listing,” Michal stressed at a briefing after a two-day meeting of leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

At the same time, against the backdrop of this initiative, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on 20 ships, banning them from entering its ports for violating the sanctions regime. The EU also added 52 new ships to the sanctions list, increasing the total number to 79.

However, international law currently limits the possibilities of action against ships in open waters. At the same time, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre noted that coastal countries can use the “right of suspicion” to inspect suspicious ships.

“We support the international order of freedom of navigation, but Russia is abusing these rules, so our action is absolutely necessary,” added Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the international efforts, highlighting the environmental risks posed by the old tankers.

“In addition to generating huge profits for the Russian military machine and financing war crimes against Ukrainians, these outdated oil tankers pose a serious environmental threat to the coastal states of the Baltic and North Seas,” Zelenskyy noted.

Also on December 16, two vessels from the Russian “shadow fleet” had an accident in the Black Sea: one split in half and the other ran aground, causing an oil leak. Both tankers were over 50 years old, which only emphasizes the risks they pose.

As USM wrote the day before, the environmental damage from the accident of the Russian tankers in the Black Sea could reach $14 billion.