Estonia detained a ship bound for Russia

On Tuesday evening, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board detained a container ship flying the Bahamian flag in Estonian internal waters. According to the board, there is reasonable suspicion that the vessel may have been used to smuggle goods from Ecuador.

As part of the operation, the K-Commando special police unit boarded the ship, which was then detained by the Estonian authorities for customs inspection.

The detained vessel, named Baltic Spirit, was heading from Ecuador to St. Petersburg, Russia. The Estonian authorities also emphasized that the ship does not belong to the so-called Russian shadow fleet and is not subject to European Union sanctions.

According to data from the MarineTraffic ship tracking service, the refrigerated container ship was anchored near Tallinn on Wednesday. It arrived in Estonian waters from a port in Colombia. The customs inspection is intended to confirm whether there is any illegal cargo on board.

(reuters, lud)