The Estonian Navy tried to stop a Russian tanker under sanctions that was trying to escort a Russian fighter jet

Estonian military prevented a possible threat to underwater infrastructure by removing the vessel from a potentially dangerous area.

The Estonian Navy escorted the tanker Jaguar, which approached the EstLink underwater power cable connecting Estonia and Finland. Gospodarka Morska reports.

The Gabonese-flagged vessel has raised suspicions over its possible affiliation with the Russian “shadow fleet”. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that in order to avoid a threat to underwater infrastructure, the vessel was forced out of Estonian waters into Russian waters.

According to the minister, the escort operation included a warship, a helicopter and an airplane.

“We have prepared that if this vessel enters the Estonian economic zone and approaches the EstLink (cables), we will escort it and try to establish its status,” Pevkur said.

Recording from the Russian “shadow” tanker “Jaguar”

Instead, the Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also commented on the situation, calling the Russian shadow fleet a very serious threat.

“A Jaguar shadow fleet vessel without a flag entered Estonian economic waters. And we reacted appropriately — our forces went out to escort this vessel … a typical Russian shadow fleet vessel. But what is important — the Russian Federation sent a fighter jet to check the situation. And this fighter jet violated NATO airspace — for about one minute. This is something new,” the minister said.

He stressed that “NATO fighters also took to the air to check the Russian fighter jet. So this is a fundamentally different situation, and we must understand that it is really serious. We need to continue our NATO-led operations in the Baltic Sea. We must understand that the shadow fleet is a very serious threat. And the Russian Federation is ready to defend it. Once again: this time it was different – a Russian fighter entered NATO airspace to inspect its shadow fleet ship. And this must be realized.

Recall that at the end of last year, at Christmas, the EstLink 2 power cable and four telecommunications cables were damaged. Finnish authorities detained the tanker Eagle S, which is suspected of causing the damage, probably due to a dropped anchor that stretched along the seabed for about 100 km. Repairs to the 650 MW EstLink 2 cable are scheduled to be completed in mid-July. The currently operating EstLink 1 trunk line has a lower capacity of 350 MW.

Recently, USM reported that the EU plans to ban Russian tankers from sailing in the Baltic and North Seas.