Overview
- Russia’s Maritime Board, led by Nikolay Patrushev, announced new safeguards for Russian‑flagged ships and vessels carrying Russian cargo.
- Shipowners were told to coordinate through port captains with the Navy, which will oversee escorted ships and provide mobile fire support units when requested.
- Officials said monitoring has been stepped up in the Azov–Black Sea and Baltic regions, with closer watch on routes where a drone hit the tanker Altura near the Bosphorus.
- Patrushev accused Western governments of provoking, inspecting, and detaining ships serving Russia, and he urged legal accountability for the Arctic‑Metagaz attack he blamed on Kiev because of risks to Mediterranean coasts.
- The Daily Excelsior report linked the move to a UK order authorizing boards of suspected sanctions‑evading vessels and to recent European interceptions of ships tied to Russia.