After the Jaguar oil tanker refused to cooperate as Estonian forces sought to approach and inspect it, the Estonian Navy followed the ship towards Russian waters, Reuters reported.
"The Russian Federation has dispatched a fighter to check the situation, and it has been encroaching on NATO airspace for nearly a minute," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters on May 15 in Antalya, Turkey ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
The Estonian diplomat noted: "We need to understand that Russia has officially intervened and connected with their "shadow fleet". The Russian Federation is ready to protect the "shadow fleet". The situation is really serious."
The Jaguar is one of more than 100 ships in the Russian "shadow fleet" - a term used by Western countries to refer to ships that were accused of being used to circumvent international sanctions. Ship in the Russian "shadow fleet" are often not managed or insured by Western organizations.
The Jaguar was sanctioned by the UK on May 9. The ship was accused by Estonia of moving illegally, not hanging the flags of either side.
According to Mr. Tsahkna, fighter jets of the NATO air patrol mission stationed in the Baltic countries have departed to check the situation of the Jaguar ship.
The UK said the sanctions it imposed were aimed at restricting or banning ships in the "dark fleet" from accessing some UK ports.
According to Estonia Navy Commander Ivo Vark, the Jaguar was near Naissaar Island, off the coast of Tallinn, when the Estonia Navy contacted via radio at 3:30 p.m. local time on May 13.
Because the ship was moving without a clear nationality, Estonia are obliged to check the ships documents and legal status, he said.
The ship has refused cooperation and continues its journey towards Russia. With the ship not having a clear nationality, we consider the use of force, including boarding, to be unnecessary," he said.
An Estonian patrol boat followed the Jaguar until it entered Russian waters, he added.
Data from Marine Traffic shows that on May 15, the Jaguar anchored near Russia's Primorsk port, and was spotted holding the flag of Gabon - a Central African country.
A video of the attempt to approach the Jaguar ship has been circulating on social network X. Margarita Simonyan, head of Russia's RT news agency and the video creator, said the fighter jet in the video was a Russian Su-35 that was deployed to prevent the ship from being seized.
Previously, on April 11, Estonia also seized and inspected the Kiwala tanker en route to Russia, accusing it of traveling without a legal flag. The ship was cooperated and released after 2 weeks.
