Fourteen Northern European countries have agreed to deepen their joint efforts against Russia’s “shadow fleet,” which is accused of evading sanctions to continue selling Russian oil, the Danish foreign ministry announced Thursday.
Representatives from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom convened to address the issue.
“We have committed to enhancing our cooperation and ensuring a coordinated, unified response by national authorities to counter Russia’s shadow fleet,” the Danish ministry said in a statement on Thursday, June 19.
The group plans to develop a shared set of guidelines, aligned with international law, to encourage responsible maritime conduct, bolster legal compliance, and increase transparency in shipping activities.
Security experts note that Russia operates a vast shadow fleet comprising hundreds of vessels designed to bypass Western sanctions on its oil exports amid the Ukraine conflict.
Last year, multiple undersea cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged, an act widely regarded by experts as part of a “hybrid war” strategy by Russia against Western nations.
The statement emphasised that “vessels not flying valid flags in the Baltic and North Seas will face appropriate measures under international law.”
It further noted that stateless ships, or those falsely displaying a flag, lack accountability from a flag state and do not enjoy the protections granted by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In response to the cable sabotage, NATO deployed ships, aircraft, and drones to the Baltic Sea earlier this year. However, such operations demand significant human and material resources.
To counter these threats more effectively, NATO aims to expand its fleet of unmanned surveillance vessels in the Baltic as part of its “Task Force X” mission.
