Germany says Russian ‘shadow’ ship stuck in Baltic Sea

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

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

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Moscow in a statement that by “ruthlessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers”, Russian President Vladimir Putin was “evading” sanctions and endangering European security.

Russia, which has previously refused to respond to allegations that it uses shadow fleets, has yet to comment on the incident.

America, Britain and the European Union have sanctions imposed On Russia’s oil industry following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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

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

A four-person team of experts was flown by helicopter to the ship on Friday night to establish the towing connection, which was secured. Three tugboats took control of the “stricken ship” which is “unable to maneuver.”

Maritime officials said Friday night that no oil spill had been detected.

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

Earlier, officials had said the convoy of tugboats working to salvage the Eventine remained north of Rügen and were “slowly” moving east at a speed of about 2.5 kph (1.5 mph). Used to be.

The CCME said they had taken safety measures in view of rough seas, as the area where the ship was located was experiencing waves up to 2.5 meters high (8 feet) and strong wind gusts.

Although the ship is Panamanian-flagged, German officials have blamed Russia for the incident.

The German Foreign Minister said, “Russia 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, dilapidated oil tankers. Endangering our European security.” In a statement.

Last December, the EU 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 come after undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea by a suspicious ship, which the EU believes was part of Russia’s shadow fleet.

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

Since strict sanctions measures were put in place 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 reported by the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, Russia is “instrumentalizing the dark fleet, using it exclusively as a primary conveyor of oil exports”.

According to the Atlantic Council, the shadow fleet, or dark fleet, is the name given to older ships that are “without industry standard Western insurance, have opaque ownership, frequently change their names and flag registrations, and generally violate maritime regulations. “work outside”. ,

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

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the move to weaken Russian oil companies would “empty Russia’s war chest”, adding that “the money taken out of Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives”.

But Gazprom Neft described the sanctions as “baseless” and “illegitimate”, as reported by Russian state news agencies.

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