Polish Navy Drives Off Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessel Seen Near Baltic Sea Power Cable

Poland’s defense minister said a patrol flight had frightened off the ship, which then made for a Russian port.

A Polish Navy ship in Vistula Spit canal during military drills on April 17, 2023. WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images

The Polish Navy was called into action after a vessel belonging to Moscow’s “shadow fleet” was spotted in suspicious circumstances near a Baltic Sea power cable linking Poland and Sweden, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on May 21.

Tusk wrote on X: “A Russian ship from the ’shadow fleet' covered by sanctions performed suspicious maneuvers near the power cable connecting Poland with Sweden.

“After the effective intervention of our military, the ship sailed to one of the Russian ports. ORP Heweliusz is sailing to the scene.”

ORP Heweliusz is a Polish Navy survey ship of the Projekt 874 class, which has been in service since the early 1980s.

The “shadow fleet” is the term used by Ukraine’s allies for vessels Moscow uses for the sanction-busting shipping of oil, arms, and grains.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz later said a naval patrol plane made contact with the ship on May 21, which then departed Polish waters for a Russian port.

Polish Maritime Component Commander Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski said the tanker was called Sun and was sailing under the flag of Antigua.

In the past, Moscow has denied its involvement in undersea sabotage in the Baltic Sea, saying the West was using the claims to hamper Russian oil exports.

The 600-megawatt SwePol Link undersea cable stretches about 250 kilometres (155 miles), linking the Swedish coast near Karlshamn with Ustka in northern Poland, allowing both grids to rely on cross-border supplies.

A spokesperson for Polish grid operator PSE said the cable was working and data showed more than 600 megawatts flowing to Sweden through the cable at 11:30 GMT.

“This shows how dangerous the times we live in are, how serious the situation in the Baltic Sea is,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told a press conference in Warsaw.

“Since Sweden and Finland joined the North Atlantic Alliance, the Baltic Sea has become a key marine area, where the largest number of incidents occur, the most common incidents related to cable breaks ... and sabotage.”

Kosiniak-Kamysz promised a “firm response” from Poland and NATO to any attack on infrastructure in the Baltic.

Neither Swedish nor Russian authorities have yet commented on the incident.

Russo–Polish relations are already fraught, with Poland earlier this month shutting down the Russian Consulate in the popular tourist city of Krakow after accusing Moscow of being behind an arson attack on a Warsaw shopping mall in 2024.

Poland says it has been a target of sabotage as part of what it says is a “hybrid war” being waged by Russia to destabilize countries supporting Ukraine.

Russia denies being party to any such attacks.

The news of potential shadow fleet activity in the Baltic comes just a day after the European Union and the UK announced a fresh salvo of sanctions against Russia, some specifically aimed at its illicit flotilla.

The UK also imposed penalties on 18 vessels believed to be in the fleet, which Moscow has allegedly used to bypass oil export restrictions, while the EU announced restrictions on almost 200.

NATO has beefed up security in the region after a string of incidents saw power cables, telecoms links, and gas pipelines damaged since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Jan. 14 that an enhanced military operation, which he called “Baltic Sentry,” involving a range of assets—including frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, military personnel, and a small fleet of naval drones—will respond to “destabilizing acts.”

In the early part of this year, several ships were seized by authorities in nations across the Baltic and Scandinavia on suspicion of conducting acts of sabotage in the region.

Reuters contributed to this report.