Let's take shale oil through the shallows: Estonia is thinking how to bypass Russia

After the detention of a tanker of a Greek company with a cargo of shale oil in Russian territorial waters, the Estonian authorities plan to change the route of ships from the easternmost port of the country. Tallinn did not expect that the Russian authorities would begin to respond to attempts to seize vessels transporting Russian oil.

On May 18, Russia detained the Green Admire tanker, which was transporting shale oil from the Estonian port of Sillamae to Rotterdam and was entering the main transport route in the Gulf of Finland through Russian territorial waters. According to AIS ships, on May 19 the ship is anchored off the island of Gogland. The Russian authorities have not commented on the situation.

Sillamae is a processing center for shale oil, which is produced in Estonia. In 2023, the export of raw materials from the country amounted to 1.19 million tons.

The route taken by the tanker of the Greek company Aegean Shipping is traditional, since the port of Sillamae is located 25 kilometers from Russia and other routes are risky for a 249-meter vessel that can carry 114 thousand tons of oil. The passage of large vessels through Estonian territorial waters is dangerous because of the shoals.

"Our pilots will now take vessels out of Sillamae through the territorial waters of Estonia. Yes, for large vessels it is a little more difficult and dangerous because of the shoals, but we will cope," Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna said in an interview with the "Actual Camera".

The news about the detention of the tanker was reported by the Estonian Department of Transport. They said that a safe route for ships has been agreed between Russia, Estonia and Finland.

At the same time, Margus Tsakhkna admitted that the detention of the tanker was Russia's response to Estonia's attempts to seize ships carrying Russian oil.

Less than a week ago, the Estonian Navy tried to force the Jaguar tanker to turn off the route to the Russian Primorsk in the Gulf of Finland and enter Estonian territorial waters. Specialized military telegram channels reported that the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, the M28 Skytruck aircraft and the EML Raju patrol boat participated in the operation. Their attempts, however, were unsuccessful, as the Russian Su-35 fighter appeared. After its flights, the Estonian authorities abandoned attempts to detain the vessel.

"This is definitely due to the fact that we have begun to put pressure on the shadow fleet of Russia. And I am talking not only about Estonia, but also about Finland and the countries of the Baltic region as a whole," said Margus Tsakhkna. He told reporters that the detention of the tanker is not a reason to call the representative of Russia, as the Russian security forces behaved correctly.

"We do not see a direct need for this now. If you look at the situation, it is actually quite calm — the tanker obeyed, there was no use of force — but, of course, we are closely monitoring whether the vessel will be able to continue moving," added Margus Tsakhkna.

As EADaily reported , some of the countries The EU has created a coalition that is trying to fight Russia's oil revenues by putting pressure on the shadow fleet. They are called vessels older than 15 years, which carry sanctioned oil and belong to unknown owners. So far, however, the countries The EU cannot do anything with the tankers of the shadow fleet, and sanctions against 300 vessels that have been banned from entering EU ports and providing services have an extremely limited effect. This is the reason for the radical leadership of individual EU countries to escalate, to which Russia has been responding since last week. The nuance of the situation is that the tankers themselves for the transportation of Russian oil have nothing to do with either Russia, nor to its companies.

The case of Jaguar is not the first for Estonia. Earlier, in April, the Estonian Navy forced the Kiwala tanker to change course, which was detained in its territorial waters. He is under EU sanctions. The Estonian Navy stated that the vessel may not have insurance and registration. By the end of April, all the requirements for the elimination of technical deficiencies had been fulfilled on board the tanker, and the Estonian side could not find any other claims. Therefore, the ship was forced to let go.