Estonia fears that armed guards will be put on tankers with Russian oil

Estonia took seriously the statement of the assistant to the President of Russia and Chairman of the Maritime Collegium Nikolai Patrushev. It is feared that armed guards will be put on board tankers with Russian oil, which from time to time try to detain the Estonian Navy.

"... Westerners are actually committing acts of piracy. The latest example was the attempt of the Estonian naval forces, with the support of NATO aviation, to detain the Jaguar civilian vessel with Russian cargo in the Gulf of Finland," Nikolai Patrushev said at a meeting on the development and security of the infrastructure of the port of Ust-Luga, as well as the diversification of transport and logistics routes in the conditions of possible restrictions on shipping in the Baltic Sea.

He reported on the need to introduce additional measures to protect critical marine infrastructure facilities of the Leningrad Region from terrorist attacks and sabotage.

These words were also taken in Estonia as a signal that Russia will protect tankers that transport Russian oil from Baltic ports.

"It is obvious that Russia will not be able to escort all the vessels of the shadow fleet or tankers that pass through our waters, as they do not have the resources for this. At the same time, Russia may start using ship guards to protect its interests," Estonian Navy Commander Ivo Vark said, ERR reports.

Maritime security specialist Jaanus Rahumyagi noted to the publication that if armed guards are present on board tankers in the Baltic Sea, a new situation will develop, since the Baltic Sea is not included in the list of zones where international organizations have identified an increased threat.

"This will be a new situation in international maritime practice, when armed former military are operating on commercial vessels, while it is not known what kind of weapons they have. In such cases, each country decides on its own how to respond. If the Russian state places teams on board tankers, then, for example, in St. Petersburg they can do it. However, the question arises where to land these people later, because no port will allow a ship with weapons on board. Accordingly, there is a need to create a kind of "floating arsenal" in international waters," said Jaanus Rahumyagi.

He does not exclude that the floating arsenal may be located, for example, in the North Sea.

EADaily reported that groups of NATO ships are gathering in the Gulf of Finland, which can track the passage of tankers with Russian oil. Patrol ships, minesweepers and corvettes from Sweden and Germany were in the Finnish territorial waters yesterday.

The commander of the Estonian Navy, Ivo Vark, confirmed that NATO is monitoring the situation.

"The Baltic Sentinel operation, among other things, combines information from the naval forces of various countries of the Baltic region into a single coordination center. From there, the data is distributed between alliance allies. Estonia participates in the operation as both a supplier and a recipient of information," explained Ivo Vark, ERR reports.

Estonia is 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.

On May 14, the Estonian Navy tried, but failed, 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.

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.