The tanker “Eventin”, which is part of the fleet of the so-called “Shadow Fleet” of Russia, was intercepted by German tugboats on Friday. This ship, which was carrying about 99,000 tons of oil, sank in the Baltic Sea in the north of the German island of Rügen due to the failure of the engine. The unit is towed to the port of Sassnitz. This was reported by the German Maritime Rescue Service.
The dpa news agency, referring to data from the vessel tracking website Vesselfinder, reports that the Panamanian-flagged tanker, which was 274 meters long and 48 meters wide, was moving from Ust-Luga, Russia to Port Said, Egypt.
The exact cause of the ship’s engine failure is unknown. According to the German Central Command for Maritime Contingencies (Havariekommando), the Eventin was held in place by naval tugs. It was also assured that the tanker is watertight and does not currently pose a threat to the environment and does not require the evacuation of the 24-person crew.
Saturday’s announcement from the German Navy
According to a statement from the Havierkommando on Saturday, the tanker will be towed to the port of Sassnitz in Rügen.
Eventin was built in 2006 and is on the list of so called ships. “Russia’s Shadow Fleet” prepared by the environmental organization Greenpeace.
The “Shadow Fleet” are ships that have been disabled with their transponders, i.e. tracking devices, and use a variety of covert tactics to smuggle sanctioned goods, including Russian oil.
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Main image source: Reuters/HAVARIEKOMMANDO
