Germany says Russian ‘shadow’ ship stuck in Baltic Sea

BBC:

German authorities have said an oil tanker stuck in German waters belongs to Russia’s “shadow fleet” intended to avoid sanctions.

Germany’s maritime authorities (CCME) said on Friday that the Panamanian-flagged ship, known as Eventin, had lost power and steering, meaning tugboats were deployed to secure the vessel.

German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, blamed Moscow, saying in a statement that by “ruthlessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers”, Russian President Vladimir Putin was “circumventing” sanctions and threatening European security.

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

The US, UK and the EU have imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil industry following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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

German maritime authorities said the oil tanker was drifting at a low speed in the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, north of the German island of Rügen.

A four-person team of specialists was lowered onto the vessel by helicopter on Friday night to establish towing connections, which were secured. Three tugboats took control of the “stricken vessel” that is “unable to manoeuvre”.

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

In its latest update on Saturday afternoon, German maritime authorities said the towing convoy around the tanker was headed to Sassnitz, a town on the island of Rügen.

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

CCME said they had taken safety measures given the rough seas, as the area where the vessel is located was experiencing 2.5m-high (8ft) waves and strengthening wind gusts.