Kristjan Truu, director of the Transport Administration's Maritime Service said that the inspection of the vessel, which took the whole of Friday, revealed a number of significant deficiencies. The deficiencies provided enough reason for the vessel to not be allowed to continue its voyage as neither maritime nor environmental safety could be ensured.

Of the 40 deficiencies identified, 29 were considered significant, providing sufficient grounds to detain the ship. The majority of them, 23, related to documentation, while others related to the implementation of the ship's safety management system, the preparedness of the crew for incidents as well as other technical deficiencies.

"One important problem is certainly the suspicion arising from the ship having no flag, which means it is not subject to the legislation of any country. Estonia was exercising its rights and international obligations to inspect a ship without a flag," explained Truu. "We are in constant contact with the shipowner's representatives and are hoping for a swift resolution."

The ship is currently anchored in Muuga Bay and being guarded by the Estonian Navy. Once the problematic documents and technical deficiencies have been satisfactorily rectified, and a re-inspection completed, the Transport Administration will authorize the vessel to continue on its journey.

On Thursday April 10, the oil tanker Kiwala, which does not have a valid state flag certificate, headed for the Gulf of Finland. The ship had declared Djibouti as its flag state. However, Djibouti had withdrawn its flag due to vessel's illegal activities. The tanker was also uninsured and had been sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Switzerland for prior illegal activities.

When the vessel entered the Estonian exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the crew was contacted and directed to Estonian territorial waters for inspection. Estonia exercised the right to board and inspect the ship's documents.

Over the past year, there has been an increase in the number of undocumented vessels transiting through the Gulf of Finland, posing a threat to Estonia's critical infrastructure, safe navigation and the environment.

Since last June, 458 vessels have been inspected by the Estonian Transport Administration and various insurance documents submitted. One falsification was detected during the inspections and along with several other documents suspected of falsification. In those cases, confirmation was requested from the flag states of the vessels in question.

In addition, seven ships have been inspected at anchorages by the Transport Administration in cooperation with other authorities.

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