Russians buzz Estonian airspace in effort to protect “shadow fleet” oil tanker from justice
A Russian military aircraft briefly violated NATO airspace after the Estonian Navy attempted to intercept a suspected “shadow fleet” oil tanker believed to be linked to Moscow, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on May 15, as reported by Reuters.
Speaking from Antalya, Turkey, ahead of an informal NATO meeting, Tsahkna stated that the Russian jet was dispatched to “assess the situation” after the vessel in question refused to comply with Estonian authorities. The ship was being escorted back toward Russian waters at the time.
” This fighter jet entered NATO airspace for nearly one minute,” Tsahkna said. “It is clear the Russian Federation is prepared to defend its shadow fleet. The situation is extremely serious.”
Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” comprises aging oil tankers used to evade Western sanctions imposed by the EU, U.K., and U.S. These vessels are often linked to opaque ownership structures and operate with minimal oversight. In a related effort, Ukraine has recently imposed sanctions on captains of such ships, many of whom are Russian or Iranian nationals involved in illicit oil transport.
As international pressure mounts, a growing segment of Russia’s oil tanker fleet has been forced to reflag, complicating Moscow’s logistics and pushing ships into registration with less reputable maritime authorities, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 23.
According to Estonian news outlet ERR, the Russian Air Force deployed a Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet to monitor the situation involving the tanker Jaguar, which was sailing through international waters in the Gulf of Finland. Estonian officials noted that the vessel was operating without a visible flag, a violation that makes it unauthorized to navigate in international waters.
Following the May 13 incident, the Jaguar returned to the Russian port of Primorsk.
This event marks the second recent confrontation involving Estonia and a suspected shadow fleet vessel. On April 11, the Estonian Navy intercepted and detained another tanker, the Kiwala, also believed to be part of the covert network used to bypass sanctions.
The UK and the EU have recently imposed sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet.