An empty tanker for Russian oil was driven away: Tusk boasted about the strength of the Polish Navy

The Polish Prime Minister boasted that the Polish Navy had driven a tanker from its parking lot in the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, which had come under new EU sanctions. The vessel was in the area of the passage of the SwePol power cable connecting Poland and Sweden.

"A Russian vessel from the sanctioned "shadow fleet" made suspicious maneuvers near the power cable connecting Poland with Sweden," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on the social network.

According to him, after the effective intervention of the military, the ship left for one of the Russian ports.

"The research vessel Heveliusz is heading to the scene of the accident," the head of the Polish government added.

Judging by the AIS data of the vessels, Donald Tusk was referring to the Sun tanker. This vessel can carry 159 thousand tons of oil and was included in the 17th package of sanctions. The EU versus Russia, which was approved this week.

The tanker has been owned and operated since February 2024 by Wavewhisper Shipping, a company registered in Turkey.

According to AIS, the tanker was returning after delivering oil to the Indian Sika and 50 miles east of Bornholm Island between Poland and Sweden did not go straight, but began maneuvering in the Baltic Sea towards Poland. The SwePol power cable with a capacity of 600 MW runs in that area.

Such maneuvers of tankers are not uncommon. They occur for various reasons: due to possible route changes, waiting for an order, or a busy anchorage. So, the Sun points to Tallinn as the end point, but, obviously, it will anchor in neutral waters almost opposite the Estonian capital. However, there is a full house now. According to AIS, 15 vessels anchored at once at the parking lot, 10 of which were tankers.

As EADaily reported, over the past few years, several incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea related to power cable breakages by ships — between Estonia and Finland. Part of the countries The EU has created a coalition that is trying to fight Russia's oil revenues by putting pressure on the shadow fleet. And the cable breakage gave rise to increased pressure, which, however, so far, like sanctions, does not affect the export of oil from Russia. Restrictions The EU concerns a ban on tankers entering EU ports and servicing them by European companies. However, ships of the shadow fleet traditionally do not use them.