Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
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The Estonian navy detained a Russia-bound oil tanker on the EU sanctions list for illegal sailing without a valid flag in the Baltic Sea.
By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) -The Estonian navy detained and boarded a Russia-bound oil tanker on an EU sanctions list on Friday, accusing it of sailing illegally without a valid country flag.
The vessel, the Kiwala, has been under EU sanctions since February as part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet", a term Western countries use for ships they say Moscow deploys to circumvent international sanctions. The ships are typically not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers.
The Kiwala was on its way to Russia at the time of the seizure, MarineTraffic data showed. It was flying a Djibouti flag, but an Estonian Transport Authority official said Djibouti had denied that it was registered there.
Reuters was not immediately able to reach Djibouti authorities for comment. Russia's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Early this morning, the Estonian navy detained a sanctioned vessel with no flag state," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said in a post on social media X.
"Estonia takes suspicious activities in the Baltic Sea very seriously," he added.
In placing the ship on its sanctions registry in February, the EU said it was involved in transporting Russian oil "while practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices".
"Because of the suspicions that the vessel has no flag, the Estonian authorities reacted. The crew and the master were cooperative", said Kristjan Truu, director of Maritime Division at the Estonian transport authority.
Navy ships and helicopters were involved in the operation, and the vessel was being inspected while Estonia talks to Djibouti to confirm details, said Truu.
Michal had warned in December that shadow fleet tankers could be boarded if they did not provide proof of insurance.
There were no reports of any damage to subsea cables or other equipment. Regional countries have accused Moscow of using ships to damage undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea in recent years.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik)
The Estonian navy detained a Russia-bound oil tanker in the Baltic Sea for illegal sailing without a valid country flag.
The tanker was detained for being on the EU sanctions list and sailing without a valid flag.
The 'shadow fleet' refers to ships used by Russia to circumvent international sanctions.
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