Twelve Western countries have agreed on measures to “disrupt and disrupt” Russia’s so-called shadow fleet to prevent sanctions violations and raise the costs of the war in Ukraine to Moscow, the Estonian government said on Monday.
Germany, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, five Nordic countries and three Baltic states had agreed to the measures, Estonia said, where leaders of the 10-nation joint expeditionary force were due to meet on Tuesday.
Western countries have imposed sanctions on a wide range of ships used by Moscow to avoid sanctions on exports of Russian oil and other cargo. Ships in the shadow fleet are not regulated or insured by traditional Western providers.
“We are taking concrete steps to stop Russia’s clandestine fleet and its attempts to evade sanctions,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michael said in a statement.
Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland and Estonia will begin checking the insurance documents of ships under suspicion transiting the English Channel, the Danish Straits, the Gulf of Finland and the sound between Sweden and Denmark, he said.
