Regional group of European countries working together to further counter the Russian “shadow fleet”

On 13-15 November a group of 12 coastal countries from the Baltic Sea and the North Sea met in Helsinki and Tallinn to discuss further joint actions against the Russian “shadow fleet”.

Experts from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom affirmed their shared commitment to work collectively to confront the environmental, maritime safety and security risks posed by the “shadow fleet”, in particular to all coastal states.

These concerns are widely shared by 46 countries and the European Union which have signed a Call to Action against the “shadow fleet” at the European Political Community meeting hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom in July 2024.

The regional expert group is focused on the activities of the “shadow fleet” in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea where the risk for environmental and maritime accidents is compounded by the challenging conditions and the sensitive waters. The group was initially called together by Denmark and the meeting held in Helsinki and Tallinn is the third in a row after Copenhagen and Oslo.

In the joint statement adopted in the third meeting, the coastal states representatives underlined the importance of continuing close co-operation and information-sharing as well as our joint efforts related to coordination of further sanctions and to explore new possibilities for common measures against the shadow fleet.

Joint statement