“The risk of military escalation is too great.” The area through which Russian oil tankers travel without fear of being seized
Estonia will refrain from seizing vessels from Russia's “ghost fleet” in the Baltic Sea, fearing that detaining vessels under Western sanctions could prompt Moscow to defend them by force of arms, an Estonian military commander said, quoted by Reuters.
Britain and other European countries such as Belgium, France and Sweden have stepped up efforts to seize old oil tankers that Moscow is using to finance the war effort in Ukraine.
Estonia's failure in 2025
But Estonia, the northernmost Baltic country near Russia's main export facilities in the Gulf of Finland, has reservations after a failed attempt to seize control of a Russian vessel last year.
“The risk of military escalation is too high,” Estonia's navy commander Ivo Vark told Reuters.
In May 2025, Estonia announced that Moscow had sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an Estonian attempt to stop an unflagged oil tanker heading to Russia that was believed to be in violation of Western sanctions. The plane escorted the tanker into Russian waters.
Since then, Moscow has established a permanent patrol of two or three warships in the Gulf of Finland and deployed other ships in the Baltic Sea along the route used by ships carrying Russian oil, Vark said.
“The Russian military presence here in the Gulf of Finland has become much more evident,” added Ivo Vark.
Dozens of tankers are waiting to be loaded
According to him, Estonia will consider an intervention only in case of imminent danger, such as damage to submarine infrastructure or oil spills.
“Obviously in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea there is a very small Russian presence so you have more time and more freedom to act on those ships as the risk of military confrontation and escalation is much lower,” commented the Estonian officer.
Reuters reporters aboard an Estonian ship in the Gulf of Finland spotted a Russian corvette close to a large group of merchant ships waiting their turn to enter a Russian port and load oil.
The number of tankers stationed in the Vaindloo perimeter of Estonia's exclusive economic zone has tripled to 30-40 this week after Ukraine's recent drone attacks on Russian ports disrupted the ship's loading schedule.
The Kremlin, which sees the sanctions as a malicious attempt to destroy its economy, maintains that its ships have a right to free passage through the Baltic Sea, with Russia prepared to respond to any attempt to stop them.
