On February 17, tensions at sea escalated when a senior Russian official announced that the country was ready to use military force to deal with crackdowns targeting their oil tanker fleet.
Mr. Nikolai Patrushev, former FSB Director and current Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council, affirmed that the country's navy must be ready to deal with what he called "Western pirates".
In an interview with the press, Mr. Patrushev made a direct threat: "If the situation cannot be resolved peacefully, the navy will break all blockade loopholes and take measures to eliminate it.
Notably, this official also hinted at the possibility of retaliation against European merchant ships. "Don't forget that there are many ships moving at sea under the flags of European countries. We may also start to pay attention to what they are carrying and where they are going," he warned.
Mr. Patrushev argued that any attempt to impose maritime blockade on Russia is illegal under international law. He also rejected the term "dark fleet" that the EU often uses, saying that this concept is completely unfounded.
This tough statement was made in the context that Western governments are increasing pressure on Russia's oil export capacity. "Dark Fleet" is a term used to refer to about 1,500 old oil tankers, operating under unclear ownership structures to help Russia deliver oil to major customers such as China and India without sanctions.
Currently, despite sanctioning more than 600 ships, European countries still have difficulty finding legal mechanisms to directly arrest or confiscate Russian ships. Instead, they mainly rely on limiting insurance and strengthening technical inspection.
At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, British Defense Secretary John Healey discussed with European partners stronger measures, including considering ships without valid papers as "non-national ships" to have an excuse for intervention at sea.
However, observers believe that Mr. Patrushev's statement seems to only focus on threatening Europe. This shows that the Kremlin is trying to avoid escalating direct tensions with the US while sensitive negotiations on Ukraine mediated by President Donald Trump's administration are taking place in Geneva.
