Danish pilots help Russian tankers pass through straits between the North and Baltic Seas

Employees of the Danish state pilotage service DanPilot are helping Russian tankers pass through the straits between the North and Baltic Seas.

This is reported by Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

In particular, one of the DanPilot pilots, who helps to pass tankers with Russian oil through the Fehmarn Belt strait, spoke about such operations.

“I feel like I am part of the Russian military machine. I know that everything that is exported through the ports brings Russia money. And it finances the war against Ukraine with it,” said Danish pilot Bjorn Caesar Skinnerup.

He added that he would like Danish waters to be closed to ships with Russian oil. But this has not happened yet, and his task is to help avoid a maritime disaster off the coast of Denmark.

The NDR publication also notes that Russian tankers pass near the coasts of Germany and Denmark every day, and Danish pilots are practically the only representatives of the West who know what is happening on these ships.

“The technical condition of the vessels, the hygienic conditions on them and the way the crew works on board are sometimes such that when I go up there, I ask myself: how do they even get to the final destination of the route safely?” — adds the pilot.

According to Skinnerup, the crew is often “underqualified” and incapable of navigation. The pilot complains that recently there was not a single tanker older than 20 years in the Baltic Sea, now they come every day.

Earlier, USM reported that Denmark is testing a fleet of unmanned sailboats to patrol the Baltic and North Seas.