German authorities said that the oil tanker stuck in German territorial waters belongs to the Russian “shadow fleet,” which Berlin says is used to avoid sanctions.
German maritime authorities (CCME) said on Friday that the Panama-flagged ship, known as the Eventen, had lost power and steering, meaning tugboats had been deployed to secure the ship.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock blamed Moscow, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of “circumventing” sanctions and threatening European security by “mercilessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers.”
Russia, which previously refused to respond to accusations that it was using the shadow fleet, has not commented on this incident yet.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have Penalties imposed On the Russian oil industry after Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In its first report on the tanker drifting in German waters, CCME said that the ship was 274 meters (898 feet) long and 48 meters (157 feet) wide, and was carrying about 99,000 tons of oil.
German maritime authorities said that the oil tanker was drifting at 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 ship by helicopter on Friday night to create the towing connections, which were secured. Three tugboats took control of the “stricken ship,” which was “unable to maneuver.”
Marine authorities said on Friday evening that no oil leak had been detected.
In its last update on Saturday evening, German maritime authorities said that the tugboat convoy around the tanker was heading to the town of Sassnitz on the island of Rügen, and would arrive early Sunday.
Earlier, authorities said the convoy of tugboats working to rescue Eventen remained north of Rügen and was moving east “slowly,” at a speed of about 2.5 kilometers per hour (1.5 mph).
CCME said it had taken safety measures due to the rough seas, as the area where the ship was located was experiencing waves 2.5 meters (8 feet) high and strong winds.
Although the ship flies the Panamanian flag, German authorities blamed Russia for the accident.
The German Foreign Minister said: “Russia is endangering our European security not only through its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, but also through downed cables, displaced border buoys, disinformation campaigns, GPS jammers and, as we have seen, oil tankers.” “Dilapidated.” In a statement.
Last December, the European Union said it was working on measures including imposing sanctions to target “the Russian shadow fleet that threatens security and the environment, while financing Russia's war budget.”
The European bloc's statements came after submarine cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged by a ship that the European Union believes is part of the Russian shadow fleet.
The move was another step taken by Western countries to strike the Kremlin's oil industry in response to Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since stricter embargo measures were imposed to prevent Russia from exporting oil, Moscow is believed to be using ships of unclear ownership to transport goods – specifically oil – across the world.
As the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, reported, Russia “uses the Dark Fleet, particularly using it as a major means of transportation for oil exports.”
The Shadow Fleet, or Dark Fleet, is the name given to older ships that sail “without industry standard Western insurance, have ambiguous ownership, frequently change their names and flag registrations, and generally operate outside maritime regulations,” according to the Atlantic Council. .
The latest incident in the Baltic Sea comes at a time when Washington and London have combined their efforts to impose direct sanctions on the energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the move to weaken Russian oil companies “will drain Russia's war chests,” adding that money taken “from Putin's hands helps save Ukrainian lives.”
But Gazprom Neft criticized the sanctions, calling them “baseless” and “illegitimate,” official Russian news agencies reported.
The US Treasury Department also said on Friday that it had imposed sanctions on 183 ships that are “part of the shadow fleet as well as oil tankers owned by fleet operators based in Russia.”
