Russia has secured oil tankers in the Baltic: the Swedish Navy noticed how

The Russian Fleet is guarding tankers that transport oil, the Swedish Navy said. According to them, armed guards have appeared on the ships, and Russian military ships are stationed in special zones of the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic and North Seas to monitor shipping.

Russia has introduced the protection of tankers that transport Russian oil from Baltic ports.

"We have seen and received information that there are military personnel on board some vessels of the shadow fleet," Marko Petkovich, head of the operational Department of the Swedish Navy, told SVT Nyheter.

According to him, now the fleet confirms that either military personnel or representatives of private security agencies are present on tankers with Russian oil.

In addition, Marko Petkovich noted, Russian ships began to be deployed in special zones of the Baltic Sea.

"The Russian naval presence has become permanent and visible in a significant part of the Baltic Sea," Marko Petkovic continued. "The Russian fleet is periodically deployed in various zones of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland and the North Sea."

Military sources told SVT Nyheter that the deployment zones of Russian ships are adjacent to shipping corridors and they are engaged in static surveillance.

"I don't see any risk in this, we have a good picture of the situation, and I don't think it's worth worrying," said Daniel Stenling, deputy head of the operations Department of the Swedish Coast Guard.

The protection of tankers appeared after a series of emergencies with tankers in the Baltic Sea this year. At the beginning, Estonia detained one sanctioned tanker in the Gulf of Finland, but was forced to release it after technical problems were fixed. The Estonian authorities were no longer able to seize the next vessel, as Russian combat aircraft appeared during the operation. Another detention of the tanker occurred off the coast of France — in the Bay of Biscay. However, in this case, the ship had to be released.

A number of European countries, led by the UK and The Baltic states have formed a coalition and are trying to counteract the shadow fleet that appeared in 2022 to export Russian oil under sanctions. Traditionally, such tankers are called vessels that carry sanctioned oil and their ultimate owners are unknown.