Russia has released a Greek-owned tanker, flying a national flag of Cuba, which was seized in Russian waters after leaving Estonia and the ship continues its journey towards the Dutch port of Madrid, Estonia ERR reported on May 20.
CSEG's ship tracking data shows that the Green Admire is en route to the Baltic Sea on May 20, with a registered destination in Madrid.
On May 18, the Estonian Foreign Ministry said the ship had left Sillamae port in Estonia via a planned route through Russian sovereign waters and had been arrested.
According to Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Russia's actions on the Green Admire ship may be in response to the Estonian naval campaign to check the tankers used to transport millions of Russian oil barrels across the Baltic Sea.
Estonia's Foreign Minister has informed its NATO allies about Russia's capture of the Green Admire ship.
Last week, Estonia accused a Russian fighter jet of violating NATO airspace after the Estonian Navy intercepted a ship suspected of belonging to the Russian "shadow fleet" in its waters.
Russia's "Dark fleet" includes former oil tankers acquired from non-transparent organizations located in countries not subject to sanctions such as the United Arab Emirates or the Marshall Islands, and flying flags in places such as Gabon or the Cook Islands.
The European Union has targeted sanctions against the fleet. In February this year, 70 ships believed to belong to the "dark fleet" were added to the list of more than 50 previously sanctioned ships. EU Foreign Ministers plan to impose sanctions on dozens of other vessels soon.
