Estonia cannot block Russian tankers, but is checking the “shadow fleet,” Estonian Foreign Ministry says
3.07.2025 - 14:11
The head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry explained that his country cannot block Russian tankers passing through the Baltic Sea.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated this in an interview with NV.
According to him, Estonia cannot block Russian tankers, because this issue is regulated by the International Convention on the High Seas.
“We cannot simply block them. But we check all the vessels of the “shadow fleet” for insurance, documents and flags, so we do a lot, but not independently, but together with the Baltic Sea Council and other countries, and we also have a NATO mission in the Baltic Sea,” the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry said.
He added that the “shadow fleet” is a very dangerous thing that supports the Russian military machine.
At the same time, the minister noted that the Russian Federation is currently concerned about this issue. And so about a month ago, it demonstrated its “readiness to protect the Jaguar shadow fleet ship with a fighter jet, which even entered NATO airspace.”
Recall that on May 15, the Estonian Navy tried to stop the Jaguar tanker, which is under British sanctions and was passing through international waters of the Gulf of Finland towards the port of Primorsk. The ship is believed to belong to the Russian “shadow fleet.”
In response to the actions of the Estonian military, Russia sent a fighter jet, which, according to the Estonian army, violated the country’s airspace.
