He noted that Russia has only a few ships in the Mediterranean due to the loss of port access and the inability to transfer forces from the Black Sea, whose fleet also suffered serious losses. “The Black Sea Fleet itself is also seriously degraded,” a NATO spokesman said.
Russia spends a lot of resources on patrolling the Baltic to protect its assets, he noted. As part of Baltic Sentry, Alliance forces made thousands of radio calls to merchant ships, ensuring constant monitoring of the maritime space. This reduced the activity of the “shadow fleet” and the risks of illegal actions.
“Regardless of whether a ship operates legally or not, its crew strives to earn money and avoid risks. Therefore, the Baltic Sentry operation has probably discouraged some malicious activity,” the officer noted.
Context
Baltic Sentry is a joint NATO operation in the Baltic Sea aimed at strengthening maritime security, monitoring shipping and identifying potential threats, according to the NATO website. As part of the operation, they constantly monitor the movement of ships, identify the “shadow fleet,” and test innovative technologies, including unmanned platforms and artificial intelligence systems for monitoring maritime space.
