A tanker heavily loaded with oil drifted adrift in heavy seas off Germany’s northern coast, with Berlin saying it was part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”.
Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) said the ship had lost power and steering on Friday evening. Three tugboats have been dispatched to secure the ship, as well as a team of towing experts flown to the ship by helicopter.
“Emergency towing specialists are on hand to ensure that the load of the 274 meter long tanker is safe and
“Distributed evenly among the tugboats,” a CCME spokesman told the dpa news agency.
Heavy winds and waves up to 2.5 meters high have been reported in the area, with poor weather conditions expected over the next 24 hours.
The command said no oil spill was reported due to the incident.
What do we know about the ship?
Moscow has used a number of opaquely owned and often uninsured vessels to sell its oil, bypassing Western sanctions imposed in response to a 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Panama-flagged Eventin was carrying 99,000 tonnes of oil when it was reported that the spill was reported, CCME said.
The CCME said the ship was headed from Russia’s Ust-Luga port to Egypt’s Port Said port. It had become wedged and was “drifting slowly in coastal waters” when it was found overnight Friday morning.
An emergency tug stopped the tanker near the island of Rügen off the northeastern Baltic coast.
The CCME initially said the emergency tug boat would tow the Bremen freighter Eventin to a port, but a spokesperson for the command later told dpa that the tanker would not be towed for the time being.
The spokesperson said the next steps were being discussed with authorities and the shipping company.
Berlin criticizes Russia’s ‘distressed oil tankers’
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized Russia’s reliance on dilapidated tankers in its “shadow fleet”, warning that it was a threat to European security.
“By ruthlessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not only bypassing the sanctions but also willingly admitting that tourism on the Baltic Sea would collapse in the event of an accident, Baerbock said, describing the tankers as “dilapidated.”
In addition to Western sanctions against Russia’s oil industry, the US and European countries are also imposing sanctions on ships considered part of the “shadow fleet”.
So far, the EU has sanctioned more than 70 ships, while the US and Britain on Friday announced new sanctions on about 180 ships, all considered part of the fleet.
rmt/wmr (AFP, dpa)
