Sweden’s navy has confirmed that armed guards have appeared aboard tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.” As reported by broadcaster SVT, the military says armed individuals, who are “believed to come from private security companies,” have been spotted on the vessels.
Russia has also stepped up its military presence in the Baltic Sea. “Russian naval activity has become more permanent and more noticeable across large parts of the Baltic Sea. The Russian navy is periodically present in various areas of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, and it appears to be operating there to some extent in support of this ‘shadow fleet,’” a Swedish navy representative said.
Military sources cited by SVT confirmed that Russian naval vessels are present in several specific areas adjacent to key shipping lanes.
The first known case of a Russian warship escorting shadow fleet tankers in European waters was reported in June, when two tankers and a naval vessel entered the English Channel simultaneously; the tankers were en route toward Russian ports to load oil. In July, the same Russian naval ship — the Steregushchiy-class corvette Boykiy — escorted a tanker and a dry cargo vessel through the Baltic Sea into the North Sea and then through the English Channel into the Atlantic Ocean.