Press
Russia is relying on a shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea, some of which consists of ships that are barely seaworthy. The countries in the region fear an environmental catastrophe.
Rostock – The situation in the Baltic Sea is becoming increasingly tense: In addition to Russia’s recently revealed plan to unilaterally expand its maritime borders into Lithuanian and Finnish waters, experts are also concerned about Putin’s “shadow fleet”. The reason for this is the potential danger of an environmental catastrophe.
The so-called “shadow fleet” consists of over 100 rusty tankers sailing under exotic flags and evading Western sanctions to export Russian oil. Russia has long been suspected of circumventing Western price caps on Russian oil exports to third countries by using ships that are not owned by Western shipping companies or are not covered by Western insurance.
Tankers barely seaworthy: Swedish Foreign Minister warns of oil leak
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström expressed his concern in April about this shadow fleet, which operates with tankers that are barely seaworthy. A massive oil leak as a result of a shipping accident could have serious consequences for many countries and the Baltic Sea, according to the German press agency.
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, marine-Expert from the Royal Danish Defence College, recently raised a disturbing question: “What if the Russians decide to sabotage one of these ships so that we get a huge oil spill in the Baltic Sea?” He sees “the danger that the Russians are doing this intentionally to punish us,” as the Picture-Newspaper Jakobsen quoted.
Micael Biden, the commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces, warned in RND also in front of the old Russian tankers: “Russia could cause an environmental disaster right on our doorstep and make it look like an accident.”
Baltic states demand consequences: Sanctions against ship owners involved are conceivable
Baltic states have been demanding consequences for some time. Countries like Sweden want to intensify the fight against the use of the “shadow fleet” to circumvent Russian sanctions, out of fear of a possible oil disaster in the Baltic Sea.
Billström said on the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg in April that it would be conceivable to impose sanctions on non-EU ship owners, operators and insurance companies involved. In addition, closer cooperation with the countries that have registered the ships or provide their ports could be possible.
According to Billström, Sweden and other EU states have already asked the European Commission and the Foreign Service to take the issue into account in the current planning for a 14th sanctions package due to the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In particular, it will focus on punitive measures against actors who circumvent existing Russia sanctions.
In addition to the shadow fleet: Expansion of the maritime border also worries NATO
In addition to the shadow fleet, the planned expansion of the maritime border of the NATO-Countries bordering the Baltic Sea are worried. On Tuesday (May 21), the Russian Defense Ministry published a draft that proposes extending the Russian maritime territory into the waters of NATO and EU members Lithuania and Finland. The document has since been removed from the ministry’s website.
By unilaterally redrawing the geographical coordinates of the Russian maritime border, Lithuanian and Finnish territories in the Baltic Sea would be assigned to Russia. Specifically, the document would shift the maritime borders of the western Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and the eastern Gulf of Finland.
Finland in the dark about Russia’s plans: Kremlin denies it is “nothing political”
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen spoke to journalists on Wednesday about Russia’s plans and stressed that her government is monitoring the situation. “We have no official information about what Russia is planning.” She pointed out that the Russian Federation is also U.N.Convention on Maritime Borders. “We only expect Russia to respect the convention,” said Valtonen.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the document was “nothing political,” “even though the political situation has changed a lot since 1985.” This was the year in which the current borders of Russia’s maritime territories were established. (bg/dpa)
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