A Russian military jet "violated NATO territory" after the Estonian Navy made an attempt to intercept a tanker thought to belong to Moscow's "shadow fleet," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on May 15 in comments reported by Reuters.
Speaking in Antalya, Turkey, ahead of a NATO informal meeting, Tsahkna said the Russian aircraft was deployed to "check the situation" after the ship refused to cooperate with Estonian authorities and was being escorted back to Russian waters.
"And this fighter jet violated NATO territory for close to one minute," Tsahkna said, adding: "(The) Russian Federation is ready to protect the 'shadow fleet'... the situation is really serious."
Russia's "shadow fleet" consists of aging tankers used to circumvent sanctions, including those imposed by the EU, U.K., and U.S. Ukraine recently sanctioned captains of these vessels, targeting Russian and Iranian nationals involved in illicit oil exports.
A growing portion of Russia's oil tanker fleet is being forced to reflag as sanctions intensify, disrupting Moscow's oil export logistics and forcing tankers to re-register in less reputable jurisdictions, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 23.
According to the Estonian media outlet ERR, Russia sent a Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet to check on the status of the tanker Jaguar, which was sailing through international waters in the Gulf of Finland.
Estonian authorities said the tanker lacked a flag, meaning it was not authorized to sail in international waters.
To carry out the interception, Estonia deployed an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, an M28 Skytruck reconnaissance aircraft, and the EML Raju patrol vessel, according to Militarny.
After the incident on May 13 it returned to the Russian port of Primorsk.
Previously, on April 11, the Estonian Navy for the first time detained an oil tanker Kiwala, belonging to the shadow fleet.
Kateryna Denisova
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