On Tuesday, March 3, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia summoned the temporary chargé d'affaires of the Russian Federation to deliver a note due to the fact that the Russian icebreaker "Murmansk" entered the territorial waters of the country without permission.
As noted by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on February 28, the Russian icebreaker "Murmansk" entered the territorial waters of Estonia near the island of Vaindloo in the Gulf of Finland without permission to assist the tanker "Olympic Friendship," which was stuck in the ice.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Navy of Estonia were not informed about the entry of the "Murmansk" into Estonia's territorial waters, and the vessel did not respond to radio calls from the Estonian Navy.
The icebreaker remained in Estonian waters for four minutes.
"With this note, we remind the Russian Federation that there are clear and unambiguous rules in Estonia's territorial waters, including during the icebreaking season," said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
A foreign vessel has the right of innocent passage through territorial waters provided that the foreign state notifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through diplomatic channels at least 48 hours prior to entry.
Due to the challenging ice conditions and the need to assist vessels, Estonia is ready to reduce the advance notice period from 48 to 6 hours until the end of the icebreaking season.
For reference: The diesel-electric icebreaker "Murmansk" (Project 21900M) was built in 2015 at the Vyborg Shipyard. Length — 119.4 m, width — 27.5 m, power — 18 MW. It is capable of breaking ice up to 1.5 meters thick.
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