(MENAFN) Estonian officials have accused Russia of detaining an oil tanker carrying shale oil from Estonia, an incident that occurred shortly after Tallinn attempted to inspect a vessel departing from Russia. The West had previously imposed maritime restrictions and an oil price cap on Russia's crude exports following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. These countries have since accused Russia of bypassing sanctions by operating a "shadow fleet" of tankers that operate outside Western insurance systems.

On Sunday, Estonia’s Foreign Ministry reported that Russia had detained the Green Admire, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker owned by a Greek company, as it departed from the Estonian Port of Sillamae. The tanker was following a pre-arranged route through Russian territorial waters, which had been agreed upon by Russia, Estonia, and Finland to avoid shallow areas.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna suggested the detention was linked to their efforts to target Russia’s shadow fleet. He also mentioned that Estonia had recently attempted to inspect an unflagged and uninsured vessel suspected of being part of the fleet. The vessel was passing through Estonia's exclusive economic zone under suspicion of being sanctioned by the UK and linked to Russia’s shadow fleet. Tsahkna added that a Russian fighter jet had briefly violated Estonian airspace during this incident.

Nikolay Patrushev, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned that the EU and UK were considering more restrictions to disrupt Russia’s shipping activities, which he said were increasingly resembling a maritime blockade. He emphasized that if diplomatic and legal measures failed, Moscow would not hesitate to deploy its Navy to protect Russian shipping. Meanwhile, NATO has ramped up its military presence in the Baltic Sea after allegations that Russia intentionally damaged undersea cables in the region.

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