EU -Außenminister fordern koordinierte Maßnahmen gegen russische ‚Schattenflotte‘ in der Ostsee | Flotte von Tankern, die unter Fahnen der Bequemlichkeitsflaggen segeln, schätzt bis zu 85% der Ölexporte Russlands

Some additional points from the article:

>The efforts to stop the fleet, estimated to be carrying as much as 85% of Russia’s oil exports and so funding roughly a third of Russia’s budget, is seen as a critical proof of the EU’s determination to keep the economic pressure on Russia.
>
>The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke on Saturday with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, over the latest steps against the shadow fleet, a group of 500 or so ageing and poorly insured tankers using flags of convenience to export Russian oil to countries like India in defiance of sanctions mounted in 2022 by the G7 countries, including Canada.
>
>But the Lithuanian foreign minister, Kęstutis Budrys, warned that current enforcement is ineffective and now faces the threat of Russian military reprisals. About three loaded shadow tankers per day pass through northern European waters, including the Danish Straits and the Channel.
>
>Speaking at the Lennart Meri conference in Tallinn, Budrys highlighted uncertainty about the law on interdiction in international waters, and fear of an all-out military confrontation with Russia. The Estonian defence minister, Hanno Pevkur, called for all sanctioned ships to be debarred from entering EU economic exclusion zone waters, as they are debarred from entering EU ports. The move would severely restrict the Russian fleet but would arguably breach maritime law.
>
>…
>
>The fleet is thought to have expanded, possibly to as many as 700 largely uninsured tankers, to circumvent rules that deny high-quality insurance to ships carrying oil to be sold above $60 a barrel. The innovative US-designed oil cap policy balances two objectives – limiting Russian revenues for its war machine, while maintaining the supply of oil for the world economy. Ships that operate without insurance can be sanctioned by G7 countries.
>
>Budrys said the paradox is that less than half of the ships that have been sanctioned either by the EU, the US or the UK have been sanctioned by all three of them. He said he wanted to see all ships in the fleet sanctioned, and for the level of proof required to sanction a ship to be reduced and standardised. Baltic states, he said, needed to clarify the current unclear national protocols under the UN convention on the law of the sea (Unclos) about the right to inspect an unflagged ship, especially inside a country’s exclusive economic zone. Since last June, the Estonian transport agency has checked the documents of more than 450 ships, but the right to interdict in international waters is strictly limited.
>
>Budrys rejected the fears of some Baltic shipping companies that a more aggressive posture will lead to restrictions on freedom of navigation for western ships in the South China Sea.
>
>He said lawyers often advise ministers that the current law on interdiction is unclear, but he said there was no point trying to reopen the outdated Unclos itself, since the process would take too long.
>
>…
>
>Since January, Nato’s Baltic Sentry mission has been established to protect the Baltic Sea’s critical infrastructure, principally undersea cables, but it has no direct responsibility over the shadow fleet.
>
>Budrys said: “We need not only to continue Baltic Sentry, but to expand its mission, because the increase in the shadow fleet increases the probability of military incidents in the Baltic Sea. This is serious.”

Coordination between the nations and alliances here, if managed properly, can help to reduce the effectiveness in the Russian shadow fleet from circumventing sanctions. There may be repercussions elsewhere such as in the South China Sea, as other nations who might not be supportive of Russian sanctions are further affected by these actions in the Baltic.