Sweden made a new law on July 1 that will increase checks on foreign vessels entering the Baltic, putting pressure on Russia’s” dark ship,” which is a group of tankers deployed to evade sanctions against its fuel trade. Moscow has relied on thousands of such ships, which operate under dark rights and dodgy plan, since the Western-led sanctions were imposed after its 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine. The vessels generally fall under the purported responsibility of causing undersea cables to be damaged, whether intentionally or not, and putting a threat to the environment on the water. The new regulations “reinforce assessments on foreign vessels by requiring coverage information,” according to a statement from the Finnish state. The initiative “aims to combat this ships and, in doing so, enhance maritime safety and environmental protection,” the statement read. Scandinavian coast guard and sea regulators will have the task of examining insurance information for boats that dock in Swedish ships and travel 200 nautical miles from shore, including those that cross Swedish regional waters or its unique economic zone. Following a number of incidents of damage to the power and communication infrastructure in the Baltic Sea in soon 2024, Sweden and Finland, both of which just joined NATO, are on the lookout for such incidents. In a statement released on Saturday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said,” We are witnessing a growing number of concerning happenings in the Baltic Sea, which requires… us to plan for the worst.” He added that allies may receive information from the new rules-checking vessels and that it could be incorporated into directories used to enforce sanctions. A 17th sanctions package against Russia that targets nearly 200 vessels in the” shadow fleet” was approved by the European Union last week.
