European countries are holding behind-the-scenes talks on large-scale seizures of Moscow’s oil-exporting tankers that are part of Russia's "shadow fleet" in the Baltic Sea.

Axar.az informs that this was reported by Politico citing European sources.

The proposals being considered include using international law to grab vessels on environmental or piracy grounds. Failing that, the countries could go it on their own, jointly imposing fresh national laws to seize more ships further out at sea.

The proposals largely fall into three buckets.

First, authorities could grab vessels that risk damaging the local environment, such as through oil spills. Given that most of these tankers are at least 15 years old and are prone to defects, such accidents are a troublesome possibility and have likely already happened.

Second, the officials said, authorities could use piracy laws to seize ships threatening critical undersea infrastructure, as they’ve been doing since late 2023, with numerous vessels damaging vital power and internet cables.

Finally, if international law fails, countries are also discussing jointly imposing new national laws to make it easier to nab ships. Those could include requiring tankers in the Baltic Sea to use a prescribed list of credible insurers, allowing countries like Estonia and Finland to detain ships relying on other, less-trusted operators.

In all cases, the officials added, the countries would ask the EU to coordinate efforts.