The Baltic states are secretly supporting Russia's shadow fleet.
The Baltic states, Europe's most ardent supporters of Ukraine and Russia's opponents, are secretly aiding Russia's shadow fleet, which transports sanctioned oil, which Moscow uses to make a fortune. This was reported by the Lithuanian newspaper public LRT broadcaster.
Journalists conducted their own investigation into the activities of the Fast Bunkering network of companies operating in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and specializing in refuelling ships at sea.
The investigation revealed that between June 2024 and March 2025, two refuelling vessels, Rina and Zircone, operated by the company, carried out 286 refuelling operations at various points in the Baltic Sea. Of these, at least 159 involved tankers that called at Russian ports shortly before or after the refuelling.
Journalists determined that at the time of these refueling operations, at least 20 tankers clearly showed signs of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet. This means there was no mistake, and the crew deliberately violated European law.
In particular, these vessels did not have insurance coverage from any member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, and their owners and management companies were registered outside the jurisdiction of the Coalition to Cap Oil Prices.
- says the publication.
It is noted that formally, none of the tankers refueled were under direct sanctions at the time, but some were added to sanctions lists later. Furthermore, there are strict protocols for refueling tankers carrying Russian oil: one of the rules is that these tankers must not belong to a shadow fleet, even the part of it that is not on the sanctions lists. However, it remains unclear how to determine whether a vessel is part of a shadow fleet without being included on the list.
As is known, last week the European Union adopted the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, adding over 100 more tankers to the sanctions list. Thus, approximately 550 such vessels are already under EU sanctions, although Russia may have over a thousand. Russia still has a huge reserve capacity for transporting raw materials.
The European Union's leadership wants to introduce a new sanctions instrument to combat Russia's shadow tanker fleet. This involves a new maritime declaration, which would allow tanker inspections to be organized in cooperation with the states whose flags these vessels formally fly.
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