On Tuesday at 5:10 p.m., personnel from the Tax and Customs Board, a police special unit and the navy detained the cargo vessel "Baltic Spirit", sailing under the Bahamian flag near Naissaar, an island on Estonia's north coast. The ship was heading for Russia.

"There is reason to believe that the vessel may have been used for smuggling," the Tax and Customs Board (MTA) said in a statement.

The police special unit K-Commando boarded the ship using a helicopter and then detained the vessel to allow the customs board to carry out an inspection.

The ship's crew did not offer resistance, the MTA said.

The operation is ongoing, and in addition to the K-Commando, officials from the MTA's investigation department are on board the "Baltic Spirit", carrying out initial inspection procedures on site.

The ship was traveling from Ecuador to St. Petersburg, Russia, when it was stopped. It entered Estonian waters for bunkering. At the time of the initial customs inspection, the vessel was located at an official anchorage.

"According to information available to the Estonian Navy, the vessel is not part of the Russian "shadow fleet" nor is it subject to European Union sanctions," the MTA said.

Smuggling, not sanctions violation

Head of the K-Commando unit Marek Aas said information about the ship came from the Tax and Customs Board.

"The operation proceeded peacefully. In these situations, K-Commando's task is always to board the vessel and ensure initial security so that other agencies, in this case, the Tax and Customs Board, can begin procedural actions," he explained.

Aas dismissed links to sanctions violations or the so-called shadow fleet.

"This was not a vessel from the Russian Federation's shadow fleet, nor was it a ship under European Union sanctions. For us, the focus of the operation was the likelihood of smuggling," he explained.

Asked if it was suspected that drugs were on the container vessel, Aas said the investigation would clarify the details.

The 188-meter-long cargo ship will initially remain at the anchorage area but will later be directed to port for a more thorough inspection.

"It should be kept in mind that this is not a small vessel. It has a large number of containers, all of which need to be inspected. So the operation continues," Aas added.

The "Baltic Spirit" has a 23-member crew and all were citizens of the Russian Federation, he said. There were no Estonian citizens among the crew.

Still room for improvement

It is estimated that 50 people from various Estonian agencies took part in the operation, including those from the Police and Border Guard Board, the Transport Administration, the State Fleet, and the Tax and Customs Board.

At sea, the operation was supported by the Navy vessels Raju and Admiral Cowan, as well as the State Fleet's pilot boat Ahto. From the air, the event was secured by a PPA rescue helicopter. 

Aas said that although the operation was carried out independently, there is room for improvement in terms of resources.

"The actual situation means there should be at least two helicopters in the air: one for security, the other for task execution. You can always get there faster and with more personnel if there are more resources," he said, pointing out that only one helicopter was available this time.

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