Sweden tightens the control of ships in the Baltic Sea to fight the Russian “shadow fleet” bypassing the sanction.
Sweden announced a tightening of the control of foreign vessels in the Baltic Sea on Saturday from 1 July. The aim is to strengthen the procedure against the ships of the Russian “shadow fleet” that bypasses sanctions for Russian oil trade. According to AFP, Tars writes about it.
After imposing anti -Russian sanctions after an invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow relies on hundreds of often unclear property and dubious insurance. European governments accuse “shadow fleet” vessels of deliberate or unintentional damage to the underwater cables and an environmental threat in the sea transport of oil.
Tightening of controls
The Swedish government stated in a statement that the new rules “strengthen the control of foreign vessels by demanding insurance information”. The aim is to fight this fleet and thereby improve maritime safety and environmental protection.
The Swedish Coast Guard and Maritime Authorities will check the details of insurance not only of ships anchors in Swedish ports, “but also boats exceeding Swedish sovereign waters or their exclusive economic zone” approximately 200 sea miles from the coast.
Cooperation with allies
“We are witnessing a growing number of worrying incidents in the Baltic Sea, which requires us to prepare for the worst,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Saturday’s statement.
The information obtained according to the new rules will be shared with allies and can be added to the databases used to enforce sanctions.
Sweden and Finland have been neutral countries for a long time, and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in fear of their security, they recently joined NATO. Last week, the European Union adopted a 17th package of sanctions against Russia, which focuses on nearly 200 vessels of the “shadow fleet”.
