Russian Forces Release Greek Tanker After Brief Detention off Estonia

 

Russian authorities have released a Greek tanker that they briefly detained off the coast of Estonia on Sunday. The vessel's AIS signal suggests that it has resumed its commercial voyage and is headed outbound through the Gulf of Finland. 

Estonia's transport ministry reported that Russian forces had intercepted the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned tanker Green Admire in the early hours of Sunday morning, shortly after the vessel departed the Port of Sillamäe. The seaport is right next to the Russian border, and the tanker's route took it into Russian territorial seas, where Russian forces detained it. The vessel was diverted to Gogland, a Russian-controlled, heavily militarized island northwest of Sillamäe. 

The route that Green Admire used is an internationally-approved safety corridor for deep-draft shipping, but it passes through Russian territorial seas. Estonia's transport board has recommended against transiting through Russian waters en route to and from Sillamäe since 2022, the year that Russia invaded Ukraine.

On this particular voyage, the pilot advised against the vessel's planned course through Russian territorial seas, Estonian Transport Board maritime chief Kristjan Truu told ERR. The final decision on routing is always up to the master.

Russian authorities also warned Green Admire repeatedly not to navigate into a designated "dangerous area" for shipping, and the vessel disregarded the warnings, Deputy Chief of the Navy Johan-Elias Seljamaa told ERR. The area closure had been in place for some time, and Russia had never enforced it before, he said. The ship had taken the same route on its arrival in Estonia without incident. The brief detention was the first time in recent history that Russian forces have interfered with Estonia's merchant shipping traffic, the transport ministry told ERR. 

There is an alternative route through Estonian waters to reach Sillamäe, but it is surrounded by shoals and requires more course changes, and many vessel operators do not prefer it. For now, Estonian authorities are recommending that deep-draft shipping take the more complicated route and stay out of Russian waters.