“This Is a Russian Warship—Stay Away:” Russian Corvette Forces Greenpeace Back From a Shadow Fleet Tanker

Greenpeace said that during a joint monitoring mission in Germany’s exclusive economic zone on June 30, a Russian corvette approached and issued a radio warning to the activists. Greenpeace described the incident as occurring after a German coast guard vessel moved close to the monitoring group documenting Kira K’s passage through the Fehmarn Belt. The environmental group reported that the corvette, identified as the Steregushchiy-class ship Soobrazitelny (hull number 531), came in at high speed and hailed the team to keep away from the tanker.

Greenpeace said the warning illustrated the “tension” created by Russia’s shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea and that naval vessels were operating in the area specifically for such purposes. The organization further claimed that Kira K, sailing under the Panamanian flag, was transporting Russian crude from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga while moving through European waters, and that it is part of Russia’s sanctioned-oil workaround network used to continue exports.

The article added that maritime tracking data indicated the tanker departed from Russia’s Baltic oil port of Primorsk on June 28 and had reached the Danish straits by the time of publication. It also said the tanker is under sanctions imposed by multiple countries and that, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, it has been used to ship Russian crude to India and other third countries, sometimes with its automatic identification system turned off. Greenpeace said the German coast guard maintained navigational safety during the monitoring and that, after the Russian warning, activists continued documenting the tanker and the accompanying warship.