EU declares war on Russia’s “shadow fleet” – Politico
10 February 20:26
The European Union plans to detain vessels of the Russian “shadow fleet”. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Politico.
To do this, international law may be used to detain ships on environmental or piracy grounds. If this does not work, countries will adopt their own laws to arrest more ships at sea.
For example, Finland and Estonia intend to create a list of “trustworthy” insurance companies. If a vessel is insured by a company that is not on this list, it may be detained.
“Almost 50% of Russia’s sanctioned oil passes through the Gulf of Finland, creating environmental threats and risks to underwater infrastructure. We cannot block the entire sea, but we can control more…” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tahkna.
It is estimated that the shadow fleet already transports more than 80% of Russian oil. Last year, 348 such vessels left the Baltic ports, accounting for 40% of Russia’s total oil exports. This is equal to a third of Moscow’s annual defense budget.
According to officials and diplomats, in addition to the EU’s proposal to blacklist 74 shadow fleet tankers, the Nordic and Baltic countries are separately discussing how they can legally begin to confiscate more Russian-linked vessels.
However, Politico writes that implementing these plans will not be easy. Russia could respond with military escorts for its tankers, which would escalate the conflict. Also, countries that arrest ships may face lawsuits and large financial costs, as they will be forced to provide for the arrested tankers.
It is worth noting that the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine , Andriy Yermak, has already responded to such steps by the EU.
“This is very important now, because every day of disrupted logistics seriously affects Russia’s ability to finance the war,” the head of the OP wrote on his official Telegram channel.
As a reminder, the idea of blocking Russian oil exports through the Baltic has been discussed since last year, but no concrete action has been taken.
Here is how the Russian side reacted to the EU initiative
“Any attack on our carriers in the Baltic Sea should be regarded as an attack on the territory of the Russian Federation,” said Alexei Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee.
He claims that even the joint naval fleet of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will not be able to compete with the Russian one.
“This is nothing more than a clown show. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania combined have such ‘powerful’ navies that two large-caliber machine guns mounted on board any tanker would be enough to send this entire maritime patrol to the bottom. They will again turn to NATO for help. But I hope that in the United States, which is essentially in charge of the alliance, there will be people who are much more reasonable,” Zhuravlev said.
The Russian State Duma deputy added that any attack on their carriers can be regarded as an attack on Russian territory, even if the vessel is flying a foreign flag.
“It is possible not only to achieve retaliatory measures in the form of boarding Western vessels in the same Baltic, but also active actions by our Baltic Fleet, which is certainly no match for the Baltic set of small boats,” the Russian politician summarized.
What is Russia’s “shadow fleet”?
russia’s “shadow fleet” consists of tankers that operate under unclear control and often without insurance, which allows them to circumvent Western sanctions. It transports more than 80% of Russia’s oil, despite the embargo. European countries are considering seizing these vessels on the basis of environmental threats or piracy to enforce sanctions.
Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко
