Piracy in the Baltic (II)
NATO countries around the Baltic Sea step up hostilities against oil tankers in Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ – in violation of international law. Germany is setting a precedent; Russia is now countering.
BERLIN/TALLINN/COPENHAGEN (own report) – Illegal maritime operations by Germany and other NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea are directed at oil tankers transporting Russian oil. The actions against Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ threaten to escalate tensions in the Baltic. A Baltic Sea summit of NATO allies, held in January, has emboldened several countries with Baltic coasts, including Germany, to find pretexts for detaining tankers coming from Russian ports and even confiscating them and their cargo. Berlin is currently engaged in such an audacious test case. The German authorities assisted and then detained a tanker carrying Russian oil in January. It was then officially confiscated in March. The vessel’s owner has filed a lawsuit against the seizure and the case is now the subject of legal proceedings. Other NATO countries around the Baltic are also acting to hinder Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’. They have regularly done so in a maritime area between 12 and 200 nautical miles off their coasts. This marks the ‘exclusive economic zone’ (EEZ) in which access to foreign ships is not legally permitted. Such actions are tantamount to piracy. Russia is beginning to counter these measures. Indeed, it is threatening to use force to ensure the peaceful passage of tankers carrying its oil. A foreign minister from a NATO state has voiced the alliance’s dislike of legal constraints: “We have a problem with the law.”
The right to peaceful passage
The legal position under international law is crucial for any assessment of the various actions against ships in the so-called Russian ‘shadow fleet’ being conducted by NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Professor Sabine Schlacke, executive director of the Institute for Energy, Environmental and Maritime Law (IfEUS) at the University of Greifswald, explained the position last week on a specialist portal. “One of the fundamental principles” of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is “the freedom of peaceful passage of ships on the seas and oceans”. “The control of ships,” Schlacke notes, “is primarily the responsibility of the flag state.” This means that the EU has “in principle no right of access to ships flying foreign flags” when they “pass through the Baltic Sea.”[1] This even applies in most cases to territorial waters that extend up to twelve nautical miles off the coast. The IfEU director does point out, however, that a littoral state may be allowed to prosecute in the event of criminal offences in these waters. Whether detainment is legally permitted “if a ship only poses only an abstract threat to the environment due to its poor condition” is at least doubtful. And in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles off the coast there are virtually no rights of intervention. Neighbouring countries are allowed to generate wind energy and fish in those waters, but legally they have no right to prosecute even “espionage or the destruction of submarine cables”.
Escalation in a legal grey area
Since the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit, held in Helsinki on 14 January [2], the relevant governments have clearly been emboldened to test the limits of maritime law with a number of brazen actions against ships in the Baltic Sea plying Russian ports. The limits of what is legally permitted are being wilfully exceeded. One example of legal overreach is the German authorities’ handling of the Eventin. This Panama-flagged oil tanker was drifting helplessly in the Baltic Sea in January and called for assistance. It was towed by a German tugboat to a position off the coast of Rügen. There it was repaired but the permission to continue on its journey was refused. Its cargo of 100,000 tonnes of Russian oil cannot be imported into Germany due to the EU’s economic sanctions on Russia. So Berlin is trying to claim that the towing of the ship to the German coast amounts to illegal importation. At the end of March, the oil tanker was actually confiscated for violating the sanctions and immediately declared German property.[3] The owner of the ship is now taking legal action against Germany. Experts consider the legality of the German authorities’ actions to be questionable, at the very least. IfEUS Director Schlacke finds that they are operating “in a grey area of international maritime law”.[4] Sascha Lohmann, an expert at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), also noted in March that the measure marked a “significant escalation”.[5] It is “surprising,” Lohmann admitted, “that the federal government is taking the risk” of going ahead with its actions on the basis of “a not entirely clear legal position”.
‘A problem with the law’
While the legal dispute over the Eventin oil tanker rolls on, some experts are clearly keen to explicitly extend the powers of coastal states to intervene. Following the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit on 14 January, Germany’s Chancellor at the time, Olaf Scholz, announced that the aim was not only to explore the “legal options” currently available under international law for “taking action against ships” “feared” to pose a threat of environmental damage – clearly a reference to the so-called ‘shadow fleet’.[6] Scholz also confirmed that the German government wanted to “create, where necessary, additional options within the framework of EU and national legislation.” Berlin seeks powers to act at any time in the future. At a meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in mid-May, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna declared that Estonia had no problem with the response capabilities of NATO naval forces to intervene against the ‘shadow fleet’. Rather, as he put, “our problem is with international law.”[7] In January, an expert from the Cologne-based maritime consultancy Nexmaris was already calling “environmental protection” to be treated a legal basis for taking measures against the ‘shadow fleet’. It should be possible for the tankers to be “closely inspected in the EEZ and, if there is reasonable suspicion of violations, prevented from further passage and detained.’[8]
Equal rights for all
The debate continues. Proponents of a more aggressive approach against Russia-serving ships ignore the fact that international law cannot simply be changed by NATO countries acting alone. Those who reinterpret the rules however they wish must expect the targeted states to defend themselves, if necessary by resorting to force. They also ignore the fact that the law must apply to everyone. Any government that takes the liberty of justifying access to Russia-serving ships with idiosyncratic reinterpretations of maritime law can only expect other states to be equally cavalier with the law. Iran could stop oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz under similar pretexts. China could detain merchant ships in the South China Sea. Turkey would be entitled to stop unwelcome merchant ships passing its coasts. All that would be needed here is to find a suitable reason to legitimise such actions.
Russia’s reaction
Meanwhile the situation continues to escalate. On 11 April, the Estonian navy forced an oil tanker on its way to Russia to leave the Estonian EEZ and enter the country’s territorial waters. There, it detained the ship and only released it after more than two weeks. The goal of such actions had already been praised in early February by Jan van Aken, federal chairman of the Left Party: “This will drive transport costs so high that oil trading will no longer be profitable. Putin’s war chest will be properly emptied.” On 13 May, Estonian Navy vessels again attempted to stop a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in the Estonian EEZ. This amounted to another clear violation of the freedom of navigation that applies to those waters. Russia reacted sharply this time, sending a Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet to fly over the tanker – an unmistakable gesture that Moscow would no longer tolerate violations of the right of free navigation for ships travelling to and from Russia.[11] Shortly afterwards, Russia detained a Greek oil tanker that was travelling north from the Estonian port of Sillamäe and crossing Russian territorial waters for several days.[12] The escalation, deliberately initiated by the Baltic Sea NATO members, is thus coming to a very dangerous head.
Impending confrontation
Meanwhile, NATO countries with Baltic Sea coasts are still allowing the situation to spiral. On 1 June, Sweden began expanding inspections of foreign ships in the Baltic Sea.[13] Finland also announced last week that it would step up its checks on foreign vessels.[14] Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, for his part, stated at the end of May that his government would be examining legal options for seizing ships belonging to the ‘shadow fleet’.[15] This stance aligns with what the German government is already doing with the Eventin oil tanker. Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, warned that the measures currently under discussion were clearly in breach of international law. They would, he said, lead to an “uncontrolled development” of the situation in the Baltic Sea that could easily result in a “direct confrontation”.
More on this topic: Die Ostsee-Wache und Piraterie in der Ostsee.
[1] Sabine Schlacke: Rechte der Küstenstaaten sind begrenzt. lto.de 06.06.2025.
[2] See: Piraterie in der Ostsee.
[3] Beschlagnahmung bestätigt: “Eventin” jetzt deutsches Eigentum. ndr.de 28.03.2025.
[4] Sabine Schlacke: Rechte der Küstenstaaten sind begrenzt. lto.de 06.06.2025.
[5] Henning Strüber, Martin Möller: “Eventin” vor Rügen beschlagnahmt: Experte sieht “erhebliche Eskalation”. ndr.de 29.03.205.
[6] Pressestatement von Bundeskanzler Scholz im Anschluss an den Gipfel der NATO-Ostseeanrainer am 14. Januar 2025 in Helsinki.
[7] Ostseerat will neue Regeln gegen Russlands Schattenflotte. handelsblatt.com 16.05.2025.
[8] Henning Strüber, Martin Möller: Schattenflotte und Seerecht: Was Ostseestaaten tun (können) – und was nicht. ndr.de 20.01.2025.
[9] Russian ‘shadow fleet‘ tanker Kiwala cleared to leave Estonian waters. news.err.ee 26.04.2025.
[10] Linke will mehr Druck auf Putins Schattenflotte. msn.com 01.02.2025.
[11] EDF Headquarters chief: Estonia had no plans to board ‘shadow fleet’ vessel. news.err.ee 15.05.2025. Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo: Estonia-Russia ship standoff portends a harsher tone on the Baltic Sea. defensenews.com 20.05.2025.
[12] Veronika Uibo: Russian authorities release Green Admire tanker seized after leaving Sillamäe. news.err.ee 19.05.2025.
[13] Theodoros Benakis: Sweden increased inspections to counter Russian shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea. europeaninterest.eu 02.06.2025.
[14] Finland takes on Putin’s shadow fleet. msn.com 07.06.2025.
[15] Katerina Alexandridi: Schattenflotte: Dänemark will Schiffe beschlagnahmen – Russland warnt vor Konfrontation. berliner-zeitung.de 31.05.2025.
