Russia’s Shadow Fleet: Answers to the most pressing questions

Did the oil tanker “Eagle S” damage a power cable in the Baltic Sea with its anchor? And possibly intentionally? Finnish investigators have been holding the ship for days to clarify the questions. They have now discovered a suspicious, kilometer-long drag mark on the seabed. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks of an urgent wake-up call and the need to protect critical infrastructure even more. According to the EU, the ship belongs to the so-called Russian shadow fleet.

This refers to tankers and other cargo ships that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, for example when transporting oil. Moscow has long been accused of relying on ships that have opaque ownership structures and often change the flag they sail under to transport and conceal their exports. Countries with laws that are significantly laxer than those in the West are used for this purpose. These are ships that are not owned by Western shipping companies or insured by Western insurance companies.

Experts in Moscow point out that the term “shadow fleet” is a Western one because the West relies on its own jurisdiction and not always that of the flag state. According to an analysis by the School of Economics in Kiev, hundreds of such ships are said to be in use. However, the “shadow fleet” is not a novelty; it has long been known from other countries subject to sanctions by the West, including Venezuela and Iran.

With the ships, Russia is financing its war of aggression in Ukraine, which violates international law, Baerbock criticized in the Funke media. They are a major threat to safety and the environment. The environmental protection organization Greenpeace also warns that the tankers are outdated, many have technical defects and threaten the environment.

This is still unclear. However, the investigators found a kilometer-long drag mark on the seabed, as they announced on Sunday evening. They boarded the ship at Christmas. At the time of the disruption, it was passing through the Estlink 2 line between Finland and Estonia. Problems also occurred with data cables. The “Eagle S” is flying the flag of the Cook Islands and has now been moved to an anchorage east of Helsinki.

The fact that Russian energy companies use a shadow fleet to bring oil to the world market is also a topic in the Russian media. However, the country has not officially commented on the allegations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that the issue was not within the competence of the presidential administration. What is clear, however, is that Russia repeatedly sought ways to ship its goods despite Western punitive measures because of various embargoes.

The Kremlin repeatedly pointed out that it was difficult for Russian shipping companies to find insurance for shipping transport. This is also why the shadow fleet with opaque ownership of old freighters is likely to be an option that Moscow is increasingly using. The raw materials power also relies on the fact that sanctions are not monitored too closely. Analysts in Moscow believe that no one has any interest in prices skyrocketing due to a lack of oil from Russia, which is one of the largest exporters.

Recently, bad weather made investigations on the seabed more difficult. The police questioned the crew members at the same time, but are keeping a low profile. The investigators did not comment on a report by the industry service “Lloyd’s List” that spy equipment had been found on board, nor on the assumption by the newspaper “Helsingin Sanomat” that the ship could also have damaged the other Estlink1 power line and the Balticconnector gas pipeline, which had already been done In 2023 – most likely by the anchor of a Chinese container ship – was cut.

The NATO military alliance announced a stronger presence in the Baltic Sea. Estonia wants to monitor the Estlink 1 power line with patrol ships, and the Swedish coast guard is also paying closer attention to shipping traffic. The EU recently announced new sanctions and banned 52 more ships from docking in EU ports. In view of hundreds of such tankers, Moscow is smiling away at the initiative – like other sanctions.

Recently, damage to underwater infrastructure has repeatedly occurred. Baerbock told Funke media that ships damaged important cables in the Baltic Sea almost every month. Crews would lower anchors, drag them across the seabed and lose them as they were pulled up. She finds it more than difficult to believe in coincidences.

Russia, in turn, constantly reminds us of the blowing up of its Nord Stream 1 and 2 Baltic Sea pipelines, which were laid to Germany. Moscow complains that the “terrorist attack” in September 2022 has still not been solved – and, last but not least, the federal government has shown no interest in it.

Attacks in the form of sabotage, murder plots or damage to infrastructure have increased, said James Appathurai, who is responsible for strategies to counter hybrid attacks at NATO and also advises the Secretary General, told Sky News. Responding to a question about the threat of war between NATO and Russia, he said: “There is a real prospect that one of these attacks will cause a significant number of casualties or significant economic damage.” NATO must be prepared for this in order to know what to do next.