Russia threatens to deploy navy to protect vessels from western piracy'

"Nikolai Patrushev, a former FSB director who heads Russia's maritime board, said on Tuesday that the country's navy should be ready to counter what he described as western piracy. If this situation cannot be resolved peacefully, the navy will break any blockade and move to eliminate it. And let's not forget that many vessels sail the seas under European flags we, too, may take an interest in what they are carrying and where they are headed, he told the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty."

"Patrushev added that any attempt to impose a maritime blockade on Russia would be illegal under international law, claiming that the EU's use of the term shadow fleet had no legal basis. The term shadow fleet refers to an estimated 1,500 ageing or lightly regulated oil tankers operating under opaque ownership structures to help Russia export crude to buyers such as China and India while circumventing western sanctions."

"Despite growing political pressure, European governments have struggled to develop a coherent legal mechanism for physically stopping or confiscating the ships, relying instead on sanctions, insurance restrictions and inspections. Western allies have warned that vessels lacking proper documentation may be treated as stateless ships, potentially widening the scope for intervention at sea. More than 600 vessels have been targeted by sanctions from the EU, UK and US. These measures have helped curb Russian oil revenues."

Moscow signalled readiness to use its navy to protect Russian-linked vessels from potential European seizures, raising the prospect of retaliatory actions against European shipping. Nikolai Patrushev urged the navy to counter what he called western piracy and warned the navy would break any blockade if peaceful resolution failed. He suggested scrutiny of vessels sailing under European flags and declared maritime blockades on Russia illegal under international law. The shadow fleet comprises roughly 1,500 ageing or lightly regulated tankers used to export Russian crude while evading sanctions. Over 600 vessels have been sanctioned, and European states struggle to develop legal mechanisms to seize ships.

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