Polish Forces Investigate Unusual Activity of Shadow Fleet Tanker

Things are heating up in the Baltic Sea, especially after a recent encounter with a shadow fleet tanker on Tuesday, May 20. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and other officials revealed that the military had to step in when thay spotted a tanker acting suspiciously.

Tusk took to social media to share that their military’s swift action prompted the vessel to leave the area. This particular ship was identified as part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which is currently under sanctions.

The Polish Ministry of National Defense elaborated on the situation, explaining that reconnaissance efforts tracked this tanker as it navigated international waters near an undersea power cable linking Poland and Sweden. The maneuvers raised red flags for authorities.

A Polish aircraft was sent out for surveillance, and it seemed to do the trick—scaring off the suspicious vessel.

Lucky for everyone involved, Poland’s state electricity transmission system reported no issues with their cable afterward. However, Tusk mentioned that the ORP Heweliusz—a survey ship from the Polish Navy—was en route to investigate further. The Ministry confirmed this vessel would check for any potential damage beneath the waves as previous incidents have shown how anchors can wreak havoc on underwater infrastructure.

An official later told Reuters that they had identified this suspect tanker as the Sun, registered under Antigua’s flag. According to Equasis data, it’s a hefty crude oil carrier owned by turkish interests and was reportedly traveling from India with its sights set on Tallinn in Estonia.

This Thursday, polish officials will gather at gdynia’s Maritime Operations Center for discussions about maritime security—with Tusk expected to join them.

The Chief of General Staff of Poland’s Armed Forces, Wiesław Kukuła, pointed out that NATO has already decided to bolster naval presence in response to last week’s events. Estonia recently attempted an inspection of another shadow fleet tanker but faced resistance when it refused orders. Simultaneously occurring, a Russian fighter jet briefly entered Estonian airspace during this incident—likely providing cover for its maritime counterpart while NATO aircraft monitored from above as Estonia escorted it away from their waters.

This year has seen baltic and Scandinavian nations ramping up patrols following damage done to Finnish underwater assets linked back to these elusive tankers; several similar incidents have led NATO forces into action across these waters too.

In just one week alone, both EU leaders and UK officials have significantly upped sanctions against Russian oil tankers aiming at tightening restrictions even further while Russian representatives assert they will protect their shipping operations fiercely.