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Estonian authorities detain commercial vessel with Russian sailors

VILNIUS, February 3. /TASS/. The investigative branch of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, in cooperation with the police and the Navy, has detained the Baltic Spirit container ship in the country’s domestic waters, the portal of Estonia’s state broadcaster err.ee said.

"The Russia-bound Baltic Spirit container ship has been detained near the Naissaar island. There are reasons to believe that the vessel was probably used for in a smuggling operation," the report says.

The ship with a crew of 23 Russian citizens was flying the flag of the Bahamas. It was en route to Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg. The crew offered no resistance during the detention.

Onboard inspections are currently under way. The ship has entered Estonia’s territorial waters for bunkering.

According to the Estonian Navy, the Baltic Spirit is not a part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet and is not blacklisted by the European Union.

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