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The Shadow Fleet Expert Group Joint Statement

Diplomatic statement | 15-11-2024

Finland and Estonia hosted maritime and sanctions experts, from 12 coastal countries around the Baltic Sea and North Sea, in Helsinki and Tallinn from 13 to 15 November 2024.

The participating countries included Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, that met in order to discuss further international possibilities for addressing Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’.

The participating countries,

  1. Emphasizing the importance of IMO Resolution A.1192(33), adopted on 6 December 2023, urging all Member States to promote actions to prevent illegal operations in the maritime sector by the shadow fleet;
  2. Referring to the Council of Baltic Sea States ‘Porvoo Declaration’ as of 14 June 2024 calling for decisive joint actions on the shadow fleet transporting Russian oil, including the strengthening of sanctions;
  3. Reaffirming the ‘Call to Action’ on the shadow fleet, agreed at the UK-hosted European Political Community (EPC) Summit on 18 July 2024, signed by 46 countries and the European Union, on addressing the risks that the shadow fleet poses to the environment, maritime safety and security, the integrity of international seaborne trade, and respect for international maritime law as well as the agreement for our relevant experts to meet together as a group and in regional formats in order to take forward concrete measures;
  4. Underlining the firm measures already adopted by the European Union and the United Kingdom as well as our partner countries to jointly address the challenge of the shadow fleet as well as our ongoing cooperation on vessel designations;
  5. Following the spirit of the initial gathering of the Expert Group by Denmark as well as the previous meetings in Oslo and Copenhagen in relation to our shared commitment to jointly pursue further sanctions and international action against the shadow fleet’s activity,

are determined to collectively confront the risks posed by the shadow fleet, especially in the environmentally sensitive waters of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea as well as to explore new possibilities for common measures against the shadow fleet within the framework of international law.