Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, western countries banned their insurance firms from insuring Russian ships, especially oil tankers. In response, Russia has sought new markets and established a "shadow fleet" to evade these restrictions, the European Parliament says.

This fleet "consists of a growing number of aging and poorly maintained vessels that operate with minimal regard to the regulations, poses significant environmental, maritime safety, and security risks."

"Estonia was the first country to check insurance in its economic zone not only via radio inquiries but also physically. Physical inspections, which have been carried out randomly since the beginning of June, have shown that the documents are in order. Over 240 inquiries and seven physical inspections have been conducted," Jaak Viilipus, head of the maritime department at the Ministry of Climate, told ERR.

He said ships' captains have mostly cooperated correctly and provided the requested information.

"In one case, there was indeed a situation where the captain did not respond to inquiries and refused to allow authorities on board. However, a week later, he voluntarily submitted all the documents himself. It turned out that the insurance had expired, but the next day he obtained new insurance, so the issue was resolved. This kind of control and pressure works in that sense, so the pressure needs to be maintained," Viilipus added.

Martin-Erich Torjus, spokesperson for the Ministry of Climate, clarified the insurance had been issued by a Russian company subject to Western sanctions. The insurance provider was replaced the following day.

It is necessary to check ships in Estonia's economic waters as these vessels no longer enter European ports due to sanctions. This is where their documents would usually be checked, Viilipus explained.

"Since traffic from Russia hardly enters European ports anymore, it means we can no longer obtain this information through the usual control mechanisms. For this reason, inspections in the economic zone help us gather information about both the technical condition of the vessels and their insurance documents," Viilipus explained.

"Previously, we simply did not have this information because if a ship does not go through the port state's control mechanism, its data in international databases becomes outdated. And if there is a whole group of ships that no longer visit European ports, it becomes necessary to find new ways to obtain this information and, based on that, decide which ships to monitor, which are the most dangerous, and how to potentially take further international steps," he added.

Before June, there was no information and there was controversy around obtaining it, Viilipus told ERR. This is because the data shows which countries are still insuring the vessels.

"From there, it became evident which flag states are willing to easily accept all kinds of new insurance policies, likely without proper coverage," he said.

"Until now, the market functioned in such a way that about 90 percent of shipping as a whole was covered by Western insurance. Now, however, we see that these insurances are coming from third countries, including Russia, China, India, and even Kyrgyzstan, among others. This is entirely legal, as it is not prohibited, but the market had simply developed differently before," Viilipus explained.

Since there is no international control mechanism for insurance other than the requirements set by flag states, the adequacy of the insurance depends on each state, he explained.

12 countries cooperating to monitor shadow fleet

Estonia is not dealing with this problem alone. This year, 12 Baltic Sea and North Sea coastal states began discussing joint measures to combat Russia's shadow fleet. The vessels pose a danger to all of them.

So far, only Estonia and the United Kingdom are requesting insurance documents from vessels sailing in their economic waters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. These documents have mostly been in order.

"After the first meeting of the expert group in Copenhagen, Estonia began gathering information in its economic zone from ships anchored at unofficial anchoring areas while waiting to access Russian ports, including information about their insurance. In October, the United Kingdom also started similar activities in the Dover Strait (Calais Strait – ed.)," ministry spokesperson Kerstin Meresma told ERR.

In addition to Estonia and the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden also participate in the cooperation format.

"At the expert group meetings, countries share knowledge and experiences, as well as explore ways to effectively mitigate the risks posed by Russia's shadow fleet. We also jointly coordinate the enforcement of sanctions on vessels and communication with international institutions and bodies. Acting together amplifies our impact. Information exchange and coordination continue among the same group of countries even between physical meetings," Meresma said.

She said countries' actions and approaches differ depending on their geographical location.

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