Estonian navy intercepts tanker linked to Russian "shadow fleet"
Early Friday morning, the Estonian Navy intercepted the tanker Kiwala, associated with Russia's "shadow fleet." These ships enable Russia to circumvent the sanctions imposed by Western countries responding to the military invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's forces in 2022.
On Friday morning, the Estonian Navy detained the tanker Kiwala, part of Russia's "shadow fleet." This information was provided by the Estonian broadcaster ERR. The ship, without a flag, entered Estonia's territorial waters at 10:19 PM ET.
The Commander of the Estonian Naval Forces, Commander Ivo Värk, noted that the current investigation does not indicate a threat to critical infrastructure.
The tanker has 24 crew members on board and is currently anchored near Aegna Island, about 15 kilometres (rounded from 9 miles) north of Tallinn. Kiwala was headed to Ust-Luga in the Russian Leningrad region, roughly 110 kilometres (rounded from 68 miles) from St. Petersburg.
Russian "shadow fleet"
According to ERR, the captain of Kiwala is a Chinese citizen. Estonian authorities are currently checking the technical condition of the ship and the crew's documents.
Information from the Ukrainian portal WarSanctions states that Kiwala is part of the "shadow fleet" - tankers registered under foreign flags that, despite U.S. sanctions, allow the export of Russian oil products to third countries.
The ownership and operatorship of Kiwala frequently change to obscure links with Russia and the true beneficiaries. Recently, the ship was sailing under the flag of Djibouti.
Methods of bypassing sanctions
To avoid international sanctions imposing a price cap on Russian oil, Russia uses over 600 ships, sailing under the flags of third countries.
In January 2025, former U.S. President Joe Biden imposed sanctions that heavily impacted the "shadow fleet," among others. The cost of transporting oil using this fleet immediately tripled, as reported by Bloomberg agency.
Over 60 percent of Russia's oil exports in 2024 were conducted through the so-called shadow fleet maritime transport. Russia thus generated over 125 billion CAD (rounded from 80 billion euros) - as stated by the main directorate of Ukraine's intelligence (GUR) at the local Ministry of Defense in March.
