Germany is attempting to seize a tanker that is currently stranded off its northern coast, claiming it is part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to circumvent sanctions.
The 274-meter-long Eventin was sailing from Russia to Egypt with nearly 100,000 tons of oil onboard when its engine failed, leaving it unable to maneuver from Thursday night to Friday, according to Germany’s central emergency command, as reported by The Guardian.
As the ship drifted in coastal waters on Friday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized Russia for using “rusted oil tankers” to bypass sanctions on its oil exports, calling it a threat to European security.
Three tugboats have been attached to the Eventin and are working to steer it northeast, away from the shore, toward a safer zone with “more maritime space,” the command said.
By Saturday morning, it was reported that the Eventin and its accompanying tugboats were “still north of [Rügen] Island and moving east.”
The entire convoy was “traveling slowly” at about 1-2 knots, or 2.5 km/h, toward safer waters northeast of Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen, the command added.
It further stated that there were winds of 6 to 7 on the Beaufort scale in the area and that “storm bursts” were expected to continue, with waves reaching around 2.5 meters in height.
“Once the position is reached, the convoy will wait for the strong winds to subside,” the statement said.
No oil leakage was detected during aerial surveillance flights, the authorities reported on Friday.
Although the tanker was sailing under the Panamanian flag, the German Foreign Ministry linked it to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” which is used to bypass Western sanctions on its oil exports due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Baerbock said, “By deploying a fleet of rusted tankers, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not only evading sanctions but is also willingly accepting that tourism in the Baltic Sea will stop in the event of an accident.”
Western countries have imposed an oil embargo on Russia and banned the provision of services to vessels transporting oil by sea.
In response, Russia has relied on undeclared or improperly insured tankers to continue its lucrative oil exports.
The number of vessels in the “shadow fleet” has surged since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, according to the Atlantic Council, an American think tank.
In addition to direct actions against Russia’s oil industry, Western countries have also imposed sanctions on individual vessels believed to be part of the “shadow fleet.”
The EU has so far imposed sanctions on more than 70 ships believed to be transporting Russian oil.
The U.S. and the UK imposed restrictions on around 180 more vessels in the “shadow fleet” on Friday.
