Estonia Detained A Container Ship Bound For Russia
- 4.02.2026, 10:11
On suspicion of smuggling.
The Estonian Navy has detained the container ship Baltic Spirit in the republic's internal waters, Estonian broadcaster ERR reported. According to her, the vessel was flying the flag of the Bahamas from Ecuador to St. Petersburg and could carry contraband. It arrived in Estonia for refueling and was at anchorage near the island of Naissar.
The detention of the container ship for customs control occurred on February 3 at 17:10 local time (16:10 Moscow time). At the same time, a K-komando SWAT team boarded the vessel. The crew, consisting of 23 Russian citizens, offered no resistance.
The head of the K-komando special forces unit Marek Aas said that the detained container ship does not belong to Russia's "shadow fleet" and is not under EU sanctions. "For us, the essence of the operation was precisely that, most likely, there was smuggling," - said Aas. At the same time, he did not specify what kind of smuggling we are talking about. Employees of the investigation department of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (Estonian Tax and Customs Board) are to check the containers on the 188-meter vessel. For this purpose, the vessel is expected to be sent from the anchorage to the port.
On January 22, the French Navy detained in the Mediterranean Sea oil tanker Grinch, which was traveling from Russia and under international sanctions. According to Euronews sources, the operation was carried out with the support of the UK, which provided intelligence that allowed the vessel to be intercepted. French authorities later arrested the ship's captain, a 58-year-old Indian national, and launched an investigation. However, despite this, Paris was forced to release the Grinch due to the requirements of national legislation.
On December 31, Finland detained the cargo ship Fitburg on suspicion of sabotage - damage to the cable of telecommunications company Elisa, which runs between Helsinki and Tallinn. The ship was traveling from St. Petersburg to Israel, and at the time of detention there were 14 people on board - from Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. On January 12, the Finnish authorities released the ship. The investigation into the sabotage continued.