NATO ships are being pulled into the Gulf of Finland. Their location may indicate that the military bloc is still monitoring the passage of ships from the Baltic ports of Russia.
According to AIS vessels, a whole group of NATO ships gathered in the territorial waters of Finland in the Gulf of Finland. For example, the Swedish Navy minesweepers HSwMS Ulvön, HSwMS Ven and the patrol ship HSwMS Stockholm have been in the region for several days. Today, on May 27, the corvette Braunschweig of the German Navy approached them.
The ships are maneuvering along the border of the territorial waters of Finland in the gulf. At the same time, the Finnish patrol ship Turva is at the exit from the territorial waters of Russia. Thus, a group of ships can visually track the passage of ships from Russia is further into the Baltic Sea along the entire length of the Gulf of Finland.
Previously, there were breaks in underwater power cables and gas pipelines and in The Baltic states and Finland claimed that the infrastructure was damaged by anchors of civilian vessels.
At the same time, the arrival of a group of ships occurred immediately after a series of incidents with tankers that transport Russian oil.
On May 14, the Estonian Navy tried to detain the Jaguar tanker during its journey to the Russian port through the Gulf of Finland. Then a video appeared on the network from aboard the tanker, as boats and a helicopter circled around the vessel, and the crew was asked to change course by radio.
Specialized military telegram channels reported that the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, the M28 Skytruck aircraft and the EML Raju patrol boat participated in the operation. However, the appearance of the Russian Su-35 fighter in the sky confused all plans.
"We had a question about the ship's flag, and the most important task was to ensure the safety of critical infrastructure. We have completed this task. Taking into account the principle of proportionality, we — together with the Police and Border Guard Department, the Transport Department and The Naval Forces have come to the conclusion that in this case, boarding a vessel for the sake of checking one document is not a proportionate measure," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur explained the refusal of the Estonian Navy to further seize the tanker in an interview with the Actual Camera (ETV).
Next, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hyakkianen said that two Russian fighter jets violated Finnish airspace. According to him, for the first time Moscow has used the military to escort tankers of the "shadow fleet".
Estonia and Finland are part of a coalition of countries that is trying to fight Russia's oil revenues by putting pressure on the shadow fleet. They call vessels with sanctioned oil older than 15 years with unknown owners. Formally, they have nothing to do with Russia, nor to domestic companies.
In April, the Estonian Navy forced the Kiwala tanker to change course, which was detained in its territorial waters. He is under EU sanctions. The Estonian Navy stated that the vessel may not have insurance and registration. By the end of April, all the requirements for the elimination of technical deficiencies had been fulfilled on board the tanker, and the Estonian side could not find any other claims. Therefore, the ship was forced to let go.
After the attempt to seize the Jaguar tanker, Russian border guards detained the Green Admire tanker, which was exporting shale oil from the country's easternmost port, Sillamae, and was passing through the territorial waters of Russia. Estonian politicians also perceived this incident as Russia's response to the aggressive actions of Tallinn, while the Estonian Navy stated that the tanker did not respond to messages from the Russian side to bypass the closed zones, which is why the vessel was detained.