The Estonian Navy seized a suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker in the Baltic Sea on Friday.
The ship had been sailing through Estonian waters in the Gulf of Finland early on Friday morning and was on its way to a Russian port.
According to Estonian public broadcaster ERR, the vessel Kiwala was sanctioned by the EU and three non-EU countries—Canada, Switzerland, and the U.K.—for its past activities as a possible member of the Russian shadow fleet, a group of foreign-registered ships Moscow uses to bypass sanctions on oil exports.
Veiko Kommusaar, head of Estonia’s border patrol, said: “It is no secret that over the past year, a number of vessels have appeared in the Gulf of Finland that sail without proper documentation. And it can be stated quite clearly that this is part of the shadow fleet.”
“The ship had no flag state. A stateless vessel. Ships like this are actually not allowed to operate. Estonia exercised its right to detain the vessel for inspection,” he added.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal wrote in a post on X: “Our authorities are currently on board, inspecting its legal status and safety.”
He added that: “Estonia takes suspicious activities in the Baltic Sea very seriously.”
Early this morning, the Estonian Navy detained a sanctioned vessel with no flag state. Our authorities are currently on board, inspecting its legal status and safety.
— Kristen Michal (@KristenMichalPM) April 11, 2025
Estonia takes suspicious activities in the Baltic Sea very seriously. https://t.co/Aate7uSpI3
ERR reported that the ship’s captain, a Chinese national, is cooperating with the investigation, while the crew of the ship is from Myanmar.
According to Ukraine’s WarSanctions portal, the ship’s owners and managers frequently changed to avoid direct ties to Russia and hide the real beneficiaries of the vessel’s activities.
The website noted that the vessel is currently sailing under the Djibouti flag. Before that, it used flags from Hong Kong, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mongolia and Gabon.
