Estonia first detained a tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet

On April 11, the Estonian Defense Forces first detained the unflagged oil tanker Kiwala — it is part of the Russian shadow fleet.

This is reported by Postimees and Fakti.bg.

The vessel was heading towards the Russian port of Ust-Luga without cargo. The tanker was detained after it entered the Gulf of Tallinn without a flag and in violation of the sanctions regime.

The vessel is subject to sanctions by the European Union and at least three other countries – Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, according to the Ukrainian state portal War Sanctions. In addition, the tanker was sailing without a national flag, which means it is not allowed to move on the high seas.

According to the commander of the Estonian Navy, Stre Ivo Varka, the tanker is part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet. He added that the relevant authorities detained the vessel to check its documents and legal status. The inspection does not concern damage to infrastructure.

The Estonian Transport Department is conducting a comprehensive inspection of the vessel, including its technical condition and documents. If violations that pose a threat to navigation are found, the tanker will remain under arrest until the deficiencies are fully eliminated, Postimees reports, citing Estonian authorities.

There are 24 people on board — a Chinese captain and a crew that is believed to be Mauritanian. Media reports indicate that the captain has cooperated with authorities.

After the detention, the vessel presented a certificate of the flag of the Republic of Djibouti, but a representative of this country stated that the tanker is not on their registry. In addition, it is unknown who its ultimate beneficiary is. According to the Ukrainian state portal, the shipʼs captain was previously a man named Serhiy Kharchenko.

War Sanctions claims that the ship is owned and managed by Tirad Shipping Inc (Mauritius), and that it is its only vessel. This company is the current owner and commercial manager of the oil tanker, which is part of the so-called shadow fleet that transports Russian oil. The ship was previously managed by Turkey’s Unic Tanker Ship Management and India’s Gatik Ship Management, one of the main operators of such a fleet.

Since the beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, the Indian company Gatik Ship Management has become the main carrier of Russian oil and has played a key role in the work of the Russian shadow fleet in circumventing sanctions.

What is known about the Russian shadow fleet?

In early December 2022, the G7 members, as well as Australia and the EU, imposed price caps on Russian oil, setting a maximum price of $60 per barrel. From February 5, 2023, these countries imposed price caps on Russian petroleum products: $100 for diesel fuel, $45 for various lubricants.

To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia has begun to form a shadow fleet. In July, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the suppression of Russiaʼs so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers, which helps it circumvent sanctions. At that time, under the leadership of the United Kingdom, 44 European countries and the European Union agreed on new sanctions. The United States and Canada later joined the program. Since then, countries have periodically updated sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet and added new tankers to the sanctions list.

At the same time, Prime Minister Starmerʼs Office noted that some of the shadow fleet ships function as Russian listening stations, while others transport weapons to Russia.

In July, Keir Starmer said that Russiaʼs shadow fleet consists of almost 600 ships and accounts for about 10% of the worldʼs "wet cargo"

fleet. With its help, Russia transports about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, which brings large profits to the Kremlin. Various countries regularly impose sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet — more and more ships are subject to restrictions.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.