“Shadow” Russian tanker nearly caused fuel spill near Finland
29.04.2025 - 11:07
An incident with a Russian vessel in the Gulf of Finland almost ended in a grounding and fuel spill.
A tanker belonging to the so-called Russian shadow fleet almost ran aground in the Gulf of Finland. The Finnish Coast Guard claims that a serious environmental accident could have occurred, writes “European Truth”.
The incident occurred in international waters near the Kalbodagrund lighthouse. The Russian vessel was heading west and could have run aground in ten minutes. The situation was averted thanks to the intervention of the maritime communications center, which warned the crew by radio. After that, the vessel changed course.
Over the past week, Finnish services have recorded several vessels belonging to the Russian “shadow fleet” in the Gulf of Finland. These vessels often operate without proper documents, with their transponders turned off, and pose a threat to both the environment and the safety of maritime infrastructure.
Finland is calling for tougher action against the “shadow fleet” amid a growing number of incidents in the Baltic and North Seas, including damage to submarine cables.
The day before, USM reported that Estonia had released a tanker belonging to the “shadow fleet” of the Russian Federation after the violations were eliminated. In total, 40 problems were found on the vessel, 29 of which were serious.
