Estonia has detained the sanctioned Russian oil tanker, Kiwala, in the Gulf of Finland. It was on its way to the Russian port of Ust-Luga before it was intercepted by the authorities. It regularly sold oil to third-countries, effectively breaking EU sanctions and visited the port of Sikka in India before traveling to Europe.
The ship’s captain is a Chinese citizen and up to 24 third-country nationals were aboard the ship when it wad detained. The crew and the captain of the ship have been changed various times as part of the effort to hide the real ownership of the ship. The captain showed Estonian authorities papers that claim that the ship is registered in Djibouti but the government of Djibouti denied that the ship was in its register. Nikolai Patrushey an aide to President Putin said that Russia needs to counteract this “disgusting” action. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanks Estonia for the act and said “I thank everyone who defends our state and spreads the truth about this war.”
This is the second Russian oil tanker seized by European authorities this year. Germany seized the Russian oil-tanker Eventin earlier this year in January. The Panamian-flagged Russian oil tanker was carrying up to 100,000 tonnes of oil when it was seized costing up to €40 million. The ship was confiscated as it sailed through the Baltic Sea and off the German coast. The Russian government said it could not identify the owners of the ship. It was sailing from the port of Ust-Luga and heading to Egypt.
Russia operates a shadow fleet of oil tankers used to evade EU and US sanctions.
Newsroom
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