(MENAFN) Estonian officials have accused Russia of detaining a tanker that was transporting shale oil from Estonia. This event allegedly occurred shortly after Tallinn made an attempt to inspect a vessel traveling from Russia.

Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Western nations imposed maritime sanctions on Russia and set a price cap on the country’s crude oil exports.

Since then, these nations have claimed that Russia is evading the restrictions by using a "shadow fleet" of tankers, which operate beyond the scope of Western insurance systems.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Estonia's Foreign Ministry asserted that earlier that day, "the Russian Federation detained the oil tanker Green Admire, sailing under the Liberian flag and owned by a Greek company, as it was departing from the Estonian Port of Sillamae and following a previously agreed route through Russian territorial waters."

According to Tallinn officials, the tanker had entered Russian waters under a trilateral agreement between Moscow, Tallinn, and Helsinki, designed to avoid shallow areas.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasized that “this is definitely connected to the fact that we have started to harass Russia’s shadow fleet."

He further revealed that last week, Estonian authorities had tried to "inspect" an unflagged, uninsured vessel suspected of being part of Russia’s "shadow fleet" while passing through its exclusive economic zone.

Tsahkna added that a Russian fighter jet had briefly violated Estonian airspace while accompanying the detained tanker.

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