Illustrative image. (RIA Novosti)
Russia’s border guard detained a cargo ship traveling to Estonia’s Sillamäe port in the Gulf of Finland on October 1, with Estonian authorities saying that Moscow had provided no explanation for the action.
The vessel Västerbotten, which is sailing under the Cypriot flag, was detained after passing through Russian territorial waters on its way to Sillamäe, according to Estonia’s Police and Border Guard Board and the Estonian Transport Administration. Tracking data from VesselFinder showed the ship anchored in Russian waters.
The route is covered by an agreement between Russia, Estonia and Finland that allows ships to pass through the area. Large vessels have used the route because it is safer than navigating the shallower waters along the Estonian side of the Gulf of Finland.
Are Piel, head of the Estonian Transport Administration’s vessel traffic management department, said Russia had the authority to inspect ships in its territorial waters, while stressing that the passage itself is permitted.
“Every country has the right to exercise control over ships in its territorial sea, and apparently the Russian administration considered it necessary to inspect this ship when it passed through their territorial sea,” Piel said.
Estonia has previously faced a similar incident. Russia detained the oil tanker Green Admire in 2025 after it departed Sillamäe, prompting the Estonian Transport Administration to decide that ships traveling to and from the port should use Estonia’s territorial waters to avoid further inspections in Russian waters.
The latest detention also comes after Moscow warned in August that it could seize European commercial vessels in retaliation if European countries moved to seize Russian merchant ships.
President Vladimir Putin said at the time that Russia would respond “in kind,” WHILE the commander of Russia’s Pacific Fleet said Russian forces were prepared to “inspect and detain” commercial vessels from countries Moscow considers hostile.
There was no indication that the latest detention was carried out as part of that threatened retaliation, and Estonian authorities said they had received no explanation from Russia for why the Västerbotten was stopped.
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