Germany says ‘shadow’ Russian tanker stuck in Baltic Sea

German authorities have said an oil tanker stranded in German waters belongs to Russia’s “shadow fleet”, which Berlin says is used to avoid sanctions.

German maritime authorities (CCME) said on Friday that the Panama-flagged ship, known as Eventin, had lost power and direction, so tugboats were deployed to secure the ship.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock blamed Moscow and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “circumventing” sanctions and threatening European security by “mercilessly deploying a fleet of rusty oil tankers.”

Russia, which previously refused to respond to accusations that it uses a shadow fleet, has not yet commented on this incident.

The United States, the United Kingdom and the EU have sanctions imposed on the Russian oil industry following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In its first report on the oil tanker adrift in German waters, the CCME said the vessel was 274 m (898 ft) long and 48 m (157 ft) wide and was carrying around 99,000 tonnes of oil.

German maritime authorities said the tanker was traveling at slow speed in the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, north of the German island of Rügen.

On Friday night a team of four specialists boarded the ship by helicopter to establish towing connections, which were secured. Three tugboats took control of the “stricken ship” which “cannot maneuver.”

Maritime authorities said late Friday that no oil leaks had been detected.

In its last update on Saturday. evening, German maritime authorities said the convoy towing the tanker was headed to Sassnitz, a town on the island of Rügen, and would arrive early Sunday.

Earlier, authorities said the convoy of tugboats working to rescue Eventin remained north of Rügen and was moving “slowly” eastward at about 2.5 kilometers per hour (1.5 mph).

CCME said they had taken safety measures due to rough seas, as the area where the vessel was located was experiencing 2.5 meter high waves and increasingly stronger gusts of wind.

Although the ship flies the Panamanian flag, German authorities have blamed Russia for the incident.

“Russia endangers our European security not only with its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, but also with cut cables, displaced border buoys, disinformation campaigns, GPS jammers and, as we have seen, ruined oil tankers,” said the Minister of German Foreign Affairs. in a statement.

Last December, the European Union said it was working on measures including sanctions to target “Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget.”

The European bloc’s comments came after undersea cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged by a suspicious ship, which the EU believes was part of Russia’s shadow fleet.

The move was another step by Western countries to hit the Kremlin’s oil industry in response to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Since stricter embargo measures were implemented to prevent Russia from exporting oil, Moscow is believed to be using ships of unclear ownership to transport goods, namely oil, around the world.

As the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, reports, Russia is “instrumentalizing the dark fleet, especially using it as the main transporter of oil exports.”

The shadow fleet, or dark fleet, is the name given to older ships that sail “without industry-standard Western insurance, have opaque ownership, frequently change their names and flag registrations, and generally operate outside of maritime regulations,” according to the Atlantic Council. .

The latest incident in the Baltic Sea comes as Washington and London joined forces to directly sanction energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the move to weaken Russian oil companies would “deplete Russia’s war chest”, adding that funds taken “from Putin’s hands help save Ukrainian lives.” “.

But Gazprom Neft called the sanctions “groundless” and “illegitimate,” Russian state news agencies reported.

Also on Friday, the US Treasury Department said it had sanctioned 183 vessels that are “part of the shadow fleet, as well as tankers owned by fleet operators based in Russia.”