The Eventin tanker, part of Russia's so-called “shadow fleet”, was detained by German tugboats on Friday. The ship, which is carrying approximately 99,000 tons of oil, drifted in the Baltic Sea north of the German island of Rügen due to an engine failure. The unit is towed to the port of Sassnitz. The information was provided by the German maritime rescue services.
The Panamanian-flagged tanker, 274 meters long and 48 meters wide, was on its way from Ust-Luga to Russia to Port Said in Egypt – reported the dpa agency, citing data from the ship tracking website Vesselfinder.
The exact cause of the ship's engine failure is unknown. According to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando), the Eventin was detained in place by a sea tug. It was also assured that the tanker was watertight and currently did not pose a threat to the environment, and that the evacuation of the 24-person crew was not required.
Saturday's announcement from the German naval services
According to Saturday's Havierkommando statement, the tanker is being towed to the port of Sassnitz on Rügen.
Eventin was built in 2006 and is included in the list of so-called ships. Russian “shadow fleet”, prepared by the environmental organization Greenpeace.
The “shadow fleet” are ships sailing with their transponders, i.e. tracking devices, turned off and using various stealth tactics to smuggle sanctioned goods, including Russian oil.
Main photo source: Reuters/HAVARIEKOMMANDO