Estonian navy intercepts Russian "shadow fleet" tanker
Early on Friday morning, the Estonian Navy intercepted the tanker Kiwala, a ship belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet." These vessels enable Russia to circumvent the sanctions imposed by the West in response to the military invasion of Ukraine carried out by Vladimir Putin's forces in 2022.
The Estonian Navy detained the tanker Kiwala on Friday morning. This information was provided by the Estonian broadcaster ERR. The ship, sailing without a flag, entered Estonia's territorial waters at 10:19 PM Eastern Time.
The Commander of the Estonian Naval Forces, Commander Ivo Vaark, noted that the current investigation does not indicate a threat to critical infrastructure.
There are 24 crew members aboard the tanker, which is currently anchored near Aegna Island, about 9 miles (rounded from 14 km) north of Tallinn. Kiwala was bound for Ust-Luga in the Russian Leningrad region, roughly 68 miles (rounded from 110 km) 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.
According to information from the Ukrainian portal WarSanctions, Kiwala is part of the "shadow fleet"—tankers registered under foreign flags that, despite US sanctions, allow the export of Russian oil products to third countries.
The owners and operators of Kiwala frequently change to conceal connections with Russia and the true beneficiaries. Recently, the ship was sailing under the flag of Djibouti.
Methods of bypassing sanctions
To avoid international sanctions that impose 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 it immediately tripled, as reported by Bloomberg.
Over 60 percent of Russia's oil exports in 2024 were conducted through the so-called shadow fleet maritime transport. Russia thus generated over 90 billion dollars (rounded from 80 billion euros) — stated the main directorate of Ukraine's intelligence (GUR) at the local Ministry of Defense in March.
