Baltic patrols step up as Russia’s shadow fleet grows (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: We turn to the Baltic, where a growing shadow fleet is causing concern. Almost a thousand of these unregulated tankers sail on the world's oceans and hundreds have been sanctioned for helping Russia to export oil that funds its war in Ukraine, while some are suspected of acts of sabotage. EU coastal states warn these tankers could pose safety or environmental risks and are stepping up checks. Sailing from the port town of Trelleborg, Adrian Murray joined Sweden's Coast Guard to find out more.

[00:00:33] Speaker 2: Heading into the choppy waters of the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Coast Guard are on patrol. Not long into the voyage, an oil tanker is spotted on the radar.

[00:00:45] Speaker 3: Swedish Coast Guard.

[00:00:46] Speaker 2: And the crew radios to ask for its paperwork. What's your flag state?

[00:00:51] Speaker 4: My flag is Panama over.

[00:00:55] Speaker 2: Roughly half of Russia's seaborne oil exports are shipped through the Baltic, a cargo often carried by the shadow fleet. A group of ageing and unregulated tankers.

[00:01:07] Speaker 5: The big question is if they have any assurance. One of the main purposes is the environment, if there are any oil spills.

[00:01:16] Speaker 2: This tanker is on the EU and UK sanctions list.

[00:01:20] Speaker 3: I think this ship will go up to Russia and get oil. It's a ship that is in the shadow fleet.

[00:01:28] Speaker 2: Days later, tracking data showed it at the Russian port of Primorsk before sailing out of the Baltic and onwards to India.

[00:01:36] Speaker 3: We have more of these vessels. They have unclear ownership. It's ownership and sometimes also unclear flag.

[00:01:48] Speaker 2: Hundreds of ships carrying Russian oil are sailing back and forth here in the Baltic, but in international waters, they can sail freely, as though coastal states have very few powers to stop them. A watchful NATO has also boosted its presence, following a wave of suspected sabotage. This month, Finnish police arrested the crew of a cargo ship after underwater cables were damaged. And a Russian-flagged tanker with links to Venezuela was seized in the North Atlantic. Meanwhile, Western sanctions have been strengthened to curb the flow of Russian oil.

[00:02:28] Speaker 6: It is a wide-ranging and extensive package that hits at the heart of the Russian war economy.

[00:02:34] Speaker 2: Yet the shadow fleet has swelled in size and now numbers almost 1,000. At the mouth of the Baltic, the narrow Danish Straits The narrow Danish Straits are a maritime motorway for 70,000 ships every year. At least two shadow fleet tankers pass daily, some cruising within a few hundred metres of the shoreline. However, Russian officials argue its exports are legitimate and that this labelling is discriminatory.

[00:03:04] Speaker 7: The Straits are international waters, meaning that the right to sail there is a right that all states have. We can stop the vessels if we think they do not have a flag, but apart from that, it is extremely limited.

[00:03:16] Speaker 2: Here in Denmark, environmental inspections have stepped up and a handful of old, unseaworthy ships have been detained. But there's also frustration.

[00:03:27] Speaker 4: We have these sanctions, so the aim of them is to make sure that we don't give Russia a chance to export oil to finance the war. And as long as they still go through, that doesn't really fully function. Eventually, the risk is an environmental catastrophe.

[00:03:44] Speaker 2: But these efforts to curb the shadow fleet's activities are just a drop in the ocean when their ranks keep growing. Adrian Murray, BBC News, Trelleborg and Køse.