Estonia Says Detaining Russia's Tankers in Baltic Sea is Too Risky

By Andrius Sytas

VAINDLOO ANCHORAGE, Estonia, April 10 (Reuters) – NATO member Estonia will refrain from detaining Russia’s “shadow fleet” vessels in the Baltic Sea, worried that seizing oil tankers and other ships sanctioned by the West could lead Moscow to defend them militarily, a senior commander said on Friday.

Britain and other European nations, including France, Belgium and Sweden, have stepped up efforts to detain aging tankers used by Moscow to secure vital funding for its four-year war against Ukraine.

But Estonia, the northernmost Baltic state located close