Estonia Refrains From Seizing Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Citing Escalation Risk

Tallinn’s navy warned that detaining sanctioned tankers could lead to military confrontation with Moscow, as Russia maintains armed patrols in the Gulf of Finland. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied The boarded ships Caffa (left) and Sea Owl I anchored side by side outside Trelleborg, Sweden on March 13, 2026. (Photo by Johan NILSSON / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google NATO member Estonia will refrain from detaining Russia’s “shadow fleet” vessels in the Baltic Sea, worried that seizing oil tankers and other ships sanctioned by the West could lead Moscow to defend them militarily, a senior commander said on Friday. Britain and other European nations, including France, Belgium and Sweden, have stepped up efforts to detain ageing tankers used by Moscow to secure vital funding for its four-year war against Ukraine. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . But Estonia, the northernmost Baltic state located close to Russia’s main oil and fuel export facilities in the Gulf of Finland, is practicing restraint after an unsuccessful attempt to board a Russian vessel last year. “The risk of military escalation is just too high,” Estonia’s Navy Commander Ivo Vark told Reuters. In May 2025 Estonia said Moscow sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an Estonian attempt to stop an unflagged Russia-bound oil tanker it believed was defying Western sanctions. The jet eventually escorted the oil tanker into Russian waters. Since then, Moscow has launched a permanent patrol of two or three armed military vessels in the Gulf of Finland, and also deployed more ships elsewhere in the Baltic Sea, along the lanes used by tankers carrying Russian oil, Vark said. “The Russian military presence here in the Gulf of Finland has become much, much more evident,” Vark said. Other Topics of Interest Swedish Gripen Jets Intercept Russian Submarine in Kattegat Strait Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters identified and shadowed a Russian Kilo-class submarine as it moved through strategic waters toward the Baltic Sea on Friday. Only in the case of imminent danger, such as damage to underwater infrastructure or oil spills, would Estonia consider intervening, he added. “Obviously in the Atlantic Ocean and also the North Sea there’s very little Russian presence so it gives you a lot more time and more liberty to act upon those vessels as the risk for military engagement and escalation is much lower,” Vark said. Reuters reporters aboard an Estonian navy vessel in the Gulf of Finland on Friday observed a Russian navy corvette near a large group of idle tankers awaiting their turn to enter a nearby Russian port and load oil. The number of tankers at the Vaindloo Anchorage in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone has tripled to around 30-40 this week as recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ports disrupted their loading schedule, Vark said. The Kremlin, which views sanctions as a malign attempt to crush its economy, says its ships have the right to free passage in the Baltic Sea and that Russia is ready to respond to any attempt to stop them.