"There are hundreds of them": Putin's shadow fleet flooded the Baltic Sea (photo)

Only along the coast of southern Sweden does over a dozen of green triangles appear. Every day, hundreds of shadow fleet vessels are unregulated tankers from all over the world to varying degrees of readiness that transport oil from Russia to countries such as China and India - move a relatively narrow passage in the Baltic Sea.

The fact that, as they hoped, would actually become a "NATO lake" after Finland and Sweden's accession, instead turned into a battlefield of a hybrid war and a shadow fleet, which operates under different names and changes flags to bypass Western economic sanctions imposed on Moscow. Some shadow ships are expected to be accompanied by Russian warships, and others watch the aircraft from above to ensure that they will get to their destination.

The correspondent was given a rare opportunity to witness the coastal protection activity, accompanied by KBV 003 ship from the port of Karlskrun in the eight -hour patrol of one of the most loaded navigable pathways in the world. "The naval movement in the Baltic has increased significantly through the entire shadow fleet, as well as NATO ships, warships and coastal security. So we try to stay away and show that we are here," says Captain Juda Jakim Hanson.

In the Bonholm Strait, the vessels of the Russian shadow fleet pass less than 10 nautical miles from the coast of Sweden. Later, the coastal security follows one, oil tanker, which is currently swimming under the flag of Malta, which, according to maritime online, has also sailed in the last two years under the flag of the Marshall Islands under a different name.

While the vessels are in the economic zone of the country, not in its smaller territorial sea - not more than 12 naval miles from the shore - the grounds for intervention are extremely limited, but since July the coast guard has the right to contact the vessel to invite information about the vessel and its insurance. A member of the oil tanker crew reports on the radio that the last port of the event was Primorsk, Russia, and he transports just less than 30,000 metric tons of diesel fuel.

His next stop, according to him, is Aliaga in Turkey. Its final destination cannot be found, but the Swedish coast guard is convinced that this ship is part of the Russian shadow fleet. Radio call is part of a new government plan aimed at strengthening the control over the shadow fleet due to the fears of serious oil spill. The vessels are not obliged to respond, but the coast guard is still declaring that they are cooperating. "Hundreds of shadow fleet vessels are constantly moving in the Baltic.

According to him, they see tankers who did not come here. Baltic safety changed radically after Russia's full -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, says Hanson. In addition to the growth of the shadow fleet, the number of obstacles in the work of satellite navigation systems, such as GPS, and the authorities of the Baltic States must monitor the underwater infrastructure. In the case of oil spill, the coastal protection will be responsible for emergency response and elimination of consequences.

In addition, the physical threat from the Russian military is increasing, as their presence in the Baltic has intensified. Hanson also faces the ships he suspects on espionage. "Earlier they had research ships for espionage. Recently, they have been using cargo vessels for these operations," he says.

However, if there is no evidence of environmental crime, fisheries crime or any violations of the rules of marine navigation, the possibility of Swedish coastal protection to respond to such threats is extremely limited.

According to the rules of the International Maritime Organization, the UN agency responsible for the safety of navigation, "the shadow fleet has the right to move freely with the entire Baltic Waters," says Jonathan Tolin, Head of the Swedish Coast Guard Investigation Department. National legislation can only be applied in the territorial waters of the country, in the broader economic zone of the country has the power of the legislation of the country under which the ship swims.