On Tuesday at 5:10 p.m., personnel from the Tax and Customs Board, a police special unit and the navy detained the cargo vessel "Baltic Spirit", sailing under the Bahamian flag near Naissaar, an island on Estonia's north coast. The ship was heading for Russia from Ecuador.

Tax and Customs Board media relations specialist Pavel Prokopenko said the ship will arrive at the port on Wednesday to begin a more thorough customs inspection.

The agency said the 188-meter-long vessel is not connected to Russia's "shadow fleet" nor is it subject to European Union sanctions.

"It should be kept in mind that this is not a small vessel. It has a large number of containers, all of which need to be inspected. So, the operation continues," said head of the K-Commando unit Marek Aas on Tuesday.

The operation involved both PPA helicopters and the navy ship Raju.

According to Aas, to be able to deploy special forces more quickly in future when needed, there is plenty of room for improvement.

"We would need two helicopters in operation all the time. For that, we would need five new helicopters, which is a significant investment. We have plans for that, but it now needs further discussion and a decision at government level on when that plan will be implemented," said Minister of the Interior Igor Taro (Eesti 200).

The K-Commando unit boarded the ship, which was then detained for customs inspection under state supervision.

The ship's crew did not resist. According to Aas, all 23 crew members are Russian Federation citizens.

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