BALTIC LEADER

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Russian military goods underway on sanctioned ship

The 'Baltic Leader' has transited the English Channel on March 3-4, 2025, and according to security services, the ship is packed with military equipment that comes from Tartus, Syria, where the ship sailed on Feb 13, and may soon be used against Ukraine. The 'Baltic Leader' is on the international sanctions list because it transports prohibited goods. It was already the third large ship in a month. In the coming weeks, two more of such shipments will transit along the coast. The 'Baltic Leader' was escorted and secured by the Russian warship 'Boikiy'. HMS 'Somerset' and a Belgian navy ship followed the Russians at a short distance as part of ongoing efforts to safeguard UK national security and critical infrastructure. The Russian equipment is disappearing from Syria at an increasing rate. The ships sail through the Mediterranean Sea past Spain and Portugal through the North Sea towards a safe Russian port. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, ships have the right to sail through the territorial waters of another country. Ukraine has become increasingly adept at sinking Russian ships in the Black Sea, so now Russia takes its cargo the long way around Europe, through the Strait of Gibraltar, Dover and the Great Belt between Sweden and Denmark. Reports with photos: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/uk-tracks-russian-roro-carrying-arms-from-syria-escorted-by-warship https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/russian-officer-brandishes-machine-gun-on-warship-in-the-channel/ar-AA1Amibt https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/uks-royal-navy-monitors-russian-warship-latest-to-sail-through-channel

Court has acquitted the captain of the 'Baltic Leader'

A French court has acquitted the captain of the 'Baltic Leader', who was accused of violating EU sanctions in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when he left the port of Rouen. He was cleared by the Rouen Criminal Court on Oct 10, 2024, after facing charges and having his ship confiscated by French authorities. The prosecution had sought a €16 million fine and a 10-month suspended prison sentence, arguing that the vessel was owned by PSB Leasing, a Russian company under sanctions. At the centre of the case was the question of the ship’s ownership at the time of its interception. Prosecutors contended that the vessel remained under the control of PSB Leasing, a subsidiary of the Russian state-linked Promsvyazbank, which had been targeted by European sanctions. However, the captain’s defence had argued the vessel had already been sold to another company, the TransMorFlot, just days before the war in Ukraine broke out. The court’s ruling followed a similar decision by the Douai Court of Appeal in Dec 2022, which had ordered the release of the ship, determining that TransMorFlot had taken ownership on Feb 16, 2022, nine days before the 'Baltic Leader' was seized.