Germany is working to secure a disabled Russian oil tanker, believed to be associated with Moscow’s “shadow fleet” used to support its military actions in Ukraine, after the vessel lost power in the Baltic Sea.
The Eventin tanker, carrying nearly 100,000 tons of oil suspected to be from Russia, experienced power failure near the German island of Rügen on Friday, according to Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME). By Saturday, three tugboats were still engaged in the effort to tow the 274-meter-long Panamanian-flagged tanker to safety.
The Eventin had departed from Russia and was en route to Egypt, as reported by MarineTraffic, a maritime monitoring group. CCME indicated that the tugboat convoy was attempting to tow the Eventin to Sassnitz, a port on Rügen, but inclement weather conditions significantly hampered their progress.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock remarked that the “decrepit” tanker exemplifies the threat Russia poses to European security. She noted that following Western sanctions on Russian oil exports, the Kremlin has turned to aging, sometimes Soviet-era tankers as part of its “shadow fleet” to transport oil globally.
“With the unscrupulous use of a fleet of rusting tankers, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin not only circumvents sanctions but also deliberately accepts the risk of halting tourism in the Baltic Sea region,” Baerbock stated on Friday.
The Kremlin, which has previously dismissed claims regarding its “shadow fleet,” has not commented on this incident. The West has expressed increasing concern over Russia’s reliance on this aging fleet, which has caused environmental damage in the Black Sea and is implicated in incidents affecting vital undersea cables off the Baltic coast.
In December, two Russian tankers were wrecked near occupied Crimea, discharging thousands of tons of fuel into the Black Sea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the ships for being nearly 50 years old and stated they “shouldn’t have been in operation at all.”
Those tankers carried around 10,000 tons of fuel combined—10 times less than the Eventin. Later that month, Finnish authorities seized another tanker traveling from Russia, suspecting it had used its anchor to damage an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia.
German officials reported that no oil leaks had been detected following the Eventin‘s loss of power, but cautioned about strong winds and waves exceeding 2.5 meters (over 8 feet) in height.
Zelensky characterized the Eventin as “an oil bomb that, fortunately, didn’t detonate.” He emphasized that Russia finances its military operations through profits from its tanker fleet, thereby risking environmental safety to maintain its capacity for violence.
On the same day, the outgoing Biden administration imposed severe sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector, including its “shadow fleet.” Zelensky welcomed the effort, stating that nearly 200 oil-carrying vessels, many linked to the fleet, would be affected by the sanctions.
The Group of Seven (G7) nations had already implemented a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil in December 2022, intended to be enforced by shipping and insurance companies. If buyers agreed to pay above the cap, these companies would withhold their services.
To circumvent these sanctions, Russia has employed aging and frequently uninsured tankers that are registered in countries not adhering to G7 restrictions. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Finnish think tank, reported that in the previous month 420 vessels exported Russian crude oil and products, of which 234 were classified as “shadow tankers,” with 30% being at least 20 years old.
Credit: CNN
