Estonia has attempted to detain the oil tanker Jaguar, bound for Russia and sanctioned by Britain, Reuters reports, News.bg reports.
The Baltic country's navy said the ship was sailing without a valid national flag and refused to cooperate when contacted. However, Estonian forces did not board it, instead escorting it to Russian territorial waters.
The Jaguar has been on the UK's sanctions list since last Friday. It is part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" - a term used by Western governments to describe ships with which Moscow is trying to evade international sanctions. These vessels are usually vessels are not regulated or insured by international organizations.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at around 3:30 p.m. local time, near the island of Naisaar, near Tallinn. The Estonian military contacted the crew by radio, but received no response and no cooperation was established.
“As the vessel was sailing without nationality, we had an obligation to check its documents“, said Commander Ivo Vark. He specified that the use of force, including boarding, was deemed unnecessary. Instead, an Estonian patrol boat escorted the Jaguar to Russian waters.
According to MarineTraffic, the tanker is currently anchored off the Russian port of Primorsk and is registered under the Gabonese flag.
A video posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter) shows an Estonian patrol boat, a helicopter and a plane, surrounding the ship. A radio communication is heard: “This is an Estonian warship, immediately change course to 105“. A voice in Russian responds: “Helicopters are meeting us, demanding that we drop anchor“, reports News.bg.
According to Estonian data, a military aircraft that is not part of the country's arsenal was also spotted nearby. Russian state media RT claims that it was a Su-35 fighter jet sent by Moscow to prevent a possible seizure of the ship.
The naval incident coincides with another tense moment: on Tuesday, Estonia lodged a protest over an alleged violation of its airspace by a Russian Su-35 aircraft, but it is not clear whether the two incidents are related.
In April, Estonia detained another tanker, the Kiwala, again bound for Russia, for not having a valid flag. It was released two weeks after being given assistance.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna reacted sharply on social media, saying that Russia should face “stronger and faster sanctions“. According to him, Russia has already “obviously committed itself to the shadow fleet“.