A minesweeper and a border guard ship drove a tanker for Russian oil into Estonia

Estonia detained the Kiwala tanker, which was carrying oil cargo to Ust-Luga, to check documents. The vessel is under sanctions EU and UK. AIS data show that the border ship and the minesweeper of the Estonian Navy forced the tanker to turn off the route in neutral waters.

The Kiwala tanker was heading from the Indian port of Sika to the Russian port of Ust-Luga and did not reach the oil terminal 150 miles away. In the economic zone of Estonia in the Baltic Sea, which is neutral waters, the ship was detained by the Estonian Navy and Coast Guard. Judging by the AIS data of the vessels, the 244-meter sub-sanctioned tanker was forced to turn off the route for more than an hour.

"Early this morning, the naval forces detained the Kiwala oil tanker in the Gulf of Finland. The ship arrived from the port of Sika in India and headed east. Port of destination — Ust-Luga in Russia, "— said the commander of the Estonian Navy Ivo Vark, reports Rostimees.

"The ship is anchored in Muuga Bay. The purpose of the detention is to check the documents of the vessel and its legal status. The detention and the investigation are in no way related to damage to critical infrastructure, and the investigation will be conducted by the competent authorities on the ship," the Navy commander said.

According to him, there are suspicions that the vessel has neither a flag nor insurance. It is also under EU sanctions due to the transportation of Russian oil at a price above the limit set by the G7 and the EU.

The director of the maritime service of the Transport Department, Kristian Truu, said that technical inspections were being carried out on the ship.

"It is safe to say that the tanker is part of a shadow fleet that uses the Baltic Sea to transport prohibited goods. The same is with this tanker," said Veiko Kommusaara, Deputy Director General of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Department. — A vessel without a flag. Such vessels are not allowed to sail."

According to Dostimees, the operation to detain the tanker began at three o'clock in the morning on April 11.

"At 04.19 Kiwala entered the territorial waters of Estonia. The Police and Border Guard Department also used a helicopter during the operation. The tanker is currently anchored in Muuga Bay, east of Aena Island. There are 24 third-country nationals on board. The captain of the vessel is a Chinese citizen, the rest of the crew of the vessel are probably citizens of Myanmar. The ship's captain is ready to cooperate. The vessel will be detained until the technical deficiencies are eliminated," the Estonian edition writes.

Judging by the AIS data of the vessels, the tanker was following a standard route in the neutral waters of the Gulf of Finland past the coast of Estonia. Opposite the island of Muuga, the Coast Guard ship Kindral Kurvitz was waiting for him. Then, at 2.55, the Estonian ship went parallel to the tanker, obviously trying to force it to turn off the route to the territorial waters of Estonia. They were able to do this only after seven miles, which they overcame in more than an hour. It is quite possible that a helicopter was needed to convince. And not only that.

According to AIS, the Admiral Kovan minesweeper also went to meet the tanker, which at that time was maneuvering in neutral waters in the area of energy cables to Finland — Estonian ships are on duty there all the time. "Admiral Kovan" approached the tanker in oncoming traffic just at 4.17, and when he turned off, followed him to the anchorage of the port of Tallinn off the island of Muuga. The ship is also there now, as is the Kindral Kurvitz.

Kiwala tanker was sanctioned EU and UK more than a year ago. According to Equasis, the vessel sails under the false flag of Djibouti and belongs to Tirad Shipping, registered in Mauritius. Operated by an unknown Hong Kong Hong Ze Hu Shipmanagement. Obviously, these data became the reason for the Estonian Navy and border guards to seize the tanker. However, it is not clear what right they had to do this in the neutral waters of the Gulf of Finland, which is protected by international law of navigation. Formally, the ship has nothing to do with either Russia, nor to the companies of the country.

As reported by EADaily , the countries The EU is seeking to reduce Russia's oil export revenues and has banned European shipowners from transporting Russian raw materials at prices above $ 60. In response, a gray fleet appeared, which includes tankers older than 15 years with unknown owners. He took over most of the transportation of Russian oil. The EU regularly imposes sanctions on gray tankers, but unlike American sanctions, this does not affect cargo flows.

Earlier, the German authorities arrested and confiscated the Eventin tanker with Russian oil, but were able to do so only after the ship's engine failed and it ended up in German territorial waters after drifting.