The Netherlands proposed changes to its maritime law on Friday that would make it easier to intercept vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet, which are used to circumvent international sanctions and often sail without a flag. If passed, shadow fleet ships sailing under a false flag in the Dutch exclusive economic zone could be detained and ordered to an anchorage or port for inspection, according to a Dutch government press release. The Russian embassy in the Netherlands responded on social media asking whether The Hague was ready for Russia’s counteractions, saying Moscow was free to mirror hostile actions against its vessels.
The move comes as European states stay on alert over Russian threats to their territory, with drone strikes damaging multiple commercial ships off the Black Sea’s western coast earlier this week. It also lands days after US sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet and as Dutch-flagged and other European ports weigh whether to accept Russian diesel cargoes under the new US arrangement.