Germany seizes Russian shadow fleet tanker with €40m cargo
German authorities have confiscated a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet along with its €40 million cargo, marking an unusually harsh enforcement action against sanctions evasion, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on 21 March.
‘The German government has opted for robust action against a tanker belonging to the secretive shadow fleet, which Russia continues to use to sell oil worldwide despite current sanctions,’ Der Spiegel said in a German-language report, noting that customs authorities seized the ‘Eventin’ on 21 March after it had been anchored off the coast of Rugen since mid-January.
Through a confiscation order issued by the General Customs Directorate, both the ageing tanker and approximately 100,000 tons of crude oil will now become German property, according to the report.
‘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,’ Der Spiegel said, citing unnamed security sources.
The vessel was reportedly travelling from the Russian port of Ust-Luga through the Baltic Sea, bound for Egypt when it initially drifted, unable to maneuver, north of Rugen. The EU listed the ship as part of Russia’s shadow fleet at the end of February.
Authorities are now planning how to safely transfer the crude oil from the tanker. The state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ‘would like to get rid of the tanker soon, as they are concerned about its negative impact on the environment and tourism,’ according to the report.
The German Ministry of Finance, which oversees customs, declined to comment due to ‘ongoing customs measures and the current security situation,’ Der Spiegel reported.
