German rescue teams have managed to secure towing lines to a loaded oil tanker that lost the ability to manoeuvre in the Baltic Sea near the German island of Rügen, authorities said on Friday.
The stricken tanker Eventin, loaded with 99,000 tons of oil, will now be towed to an as-yet undetermined port by the emergency tug boat Bremen Fighter, according to Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME).
The 274-metre-long and 48-metre-wide ship remains sealed and does not pose an immediate environmental risk or a danger to the crew on board, a spokesman for the agency told dpa.
The Eventin, which was built in 2006 and is sailing under a Panamanian flag, was en route from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Egypt’s Port Said, according to the ship tracking platform Vesselfinder.
The ship is part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to export oil despite heavy sanctions on the country, according to a list of Russian-linked vessels compiled by the environmental advocacy organization Greenpeace.
Ships in the “shadow fleet” are often outdated and in poor operating condition.
The Eventin suffered an engine failure and was drifting in the Baltic Sea before being secured, according to CCME, although the cause of the engine failure remained initially unclear.
The CCME said conditions in the Baltic Sea near where the Eventin was sailing included moderate to fresh winds, but the agency did not immediately provide additional details on the weather and swell.
A vessel from Germany’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration, the Arkona, was also dispatched to accompany the tanker in addition to the emergency tug Bremen Fighter.
A specially trained maritime response team was also deployed to board the tanker and secure the towing connection.
Following the incident, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of knowingly causing serious environmental damage.
“With the reckless deployment of a fleet of rusty tankers, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not only circumventing sanctions, but also accepting that tourism on the Baltic Sea will come to a standstill – be it in the Baltic States, in Poland or in our country,” Baerbock said.
“Russia is endangering our European security not only with its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, but also with severed cables, displaced border buoys, disinformation campaigns, GPS jammers and, as we have seen, dilapidated oil tankers,” the Green Party politician added.
Reactions also came from abroad, with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys speaking out in favour of more decisive action and further measures against Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
“The Baltic Sea is the most important gateway for Russia’s oil exports and we must stop this,” he said during a visit to the Estonian capital Tallinn.
At the same time, the “shadow fleet” is an “instrument in hybrid activities” and poses a threat to the environment, he said.
The Baltic Sea is one of the most heavily travelled seas in the world. According to the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research in the German town of Warnemünde (IOW), more than 2,000 ships travel through the inland sea every day.
A view of the unmaneuverable oil tanker “Eventin” off the coast of the island of Ruegen. The oil tanker, which flies the flag of Panama, drifted for several hours in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Ruegen, unable to maneuver – German emergency services secured the ship in the afternoon. Stefan Sauer/dpa
