This is probably one incident too many. The rupture of a submarine cable in the Baltic has provided Finland with a pretext to act against the Russian ghost fleet, the one which transports oil without any regulation to circumvent international sanctions.
Thursday, December 26, the Finnish navy boarded the tanker Eagle Ssuspected of having destroyed with his anchor a strategic electricity supply line between Finland and Estonia. The Cook Islands-flagged ship, loaded with Russian unleaded gasoline, was sequestered in a Finnish port. It belongs to this Russian ghost fleet bringing together several hundred ships and against which developed countries have been trying to act for months without finding the right angle of attack.
The European Commission immediately welcomed the Finnish initiative and announced its intention to quickly propose sanctions to target these vessels. The Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, explained for his part that this cable break is “a new serious incident in too long a series”. Over the past year, at least four communications or power cables as well as a gas pipeline have been cut in the Baltic Sea. Each time, suspicion turned to Russian or Chinese ships, without them being held criminally responsible.
“We will not sit still”
“The Russian ship is now under our control and that is a powerful message to all others sailing in these waters”said Petteri Orpo. “We can’t just sit back and watch what happens, and we won’t”he added, also calling for crackdown on the Russian ghost fleet.
This fleet was formed by Russia shortly after the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022. Moscow bought several hundred old tankers which were returned to service. They have flags of convenience. Their official owners and names change constantly. They navigate without reporting and sometimes without valid insurance.
These ships allow Russia to continue exporting its oil, despite sanctions. “Last October, 111 ghost tankers loaded with crude left Russian ports”notes Elina Ribakova, researcher at the kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine, who closely follows the activity of these boats. According to his calculations, 85% of Russian exported oil travels on these ships. To circumvent sanctions, these tankers use numerous techniques, including transshipment of oil on the high seas to other ships which are in compliance. This technique was already used by countries under sanctions, such as Venezuela or Iran. But Russia has developed this system on a completely different scale.
Insurance checks to disrupt ghost ships
Elina Ribakova specifies that “84% of Russian ships in this fleet are over 15 years old. These aging, uninsured boats pose environmental risks in European waters and help Russia escape the $60 price cap (58 €) the barrel to finance its war against Ukraine ». On December 15, two Russian tankers sank in the Kerch Strait, in the Black Sea, causing significant pollution. The continuation of this activity also harms the effectiveness of the pressure exerted on the Russian economy, in order to force it to stop its invasion of Ukraine.
On December 16, 12 countries bordering the Baltic announced the introduction of insurance controls for oil tankers traveling in the English Channel, the Danish Great Belt Strait, the strait between Denmark, Sweden and the Gulf of Finland. They wish “disrupt and deter the Russian shadow fleet in order to prevent illegal operations and increase the cost of the war against Ukraine.”
Danish defense intelligence estimates that, in response, the Russian navy could organize tanker convoys escorted by Russian military ships. “If this happens, it will increase the level of tension”anticipates the agency. In the Baltic Sea, the naval battle against the Ghost Fleet has only just begun.
