Germany confiscates Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in Baltic Sea
- 21 March, 09:40
Germany seized a Russian shadow fleet vessel transporting 100,000 metric tons of oil in the Black Sea in January, Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.
The Panama-flagged ship that was worth around 40 million euros was sailing from Russia’s Ust-Luga port and bound to Egypt before its was seized by German maritime authorities in Ruegen Island.
Since late February, the Russian ship called Eventin has been listed by the EU as part of Russia's shadow fleet, which has been used to transport Russian oil, weapons and grains bypassing the Western-imposed sanctions. Spiegel reported that Moscow continues to sell billions of dollars' worth of oil worldwide with an entire armada of tankers, mostly aging vessels that do not fly the Russian flag. After the "Eventin" was listed, the German government decided to confiscate the ship rather than let it go. The Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry believe this unusually harsh approach is intended to send a signal to Russia that Germany will not stand idly by while Russian oil transits through the Baltic Sea. The aging oil tanker also raised environmental concerns about a possible oil spill.
Earlier, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russia was endangering Europe’s security with not only invasion of Ukraine but also with dilapidated oil tankers
