Confiscation of a tanker with Russian oil in Germany is postponed

The confiscation of a tanker with Russian oil, which ended up in German territorial waters due to engine failure, has been postponed. The German Finance Ministry said that the fate of the tanker will be considered by the court.

"At present, appeals have been filed with the competent court for temporary protection against seizure and confiscation of the vessel and its cargo," a spokesman for the German Finance Ministry said, Reuters reports.

The representative of the German Ministry of Finance clarified that the agency was suspending all its actions until the court's decision. At the same time, he refused to disclose the identity of the plaintiff, whether the petition was filed by the owner of the vessel or cargo, and how long the trial will last.

The vessel will soon be transferred to an anchorage for dangerous goods about three nautical miles from Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, but it is considered seaworthy and does not pose a threat, a German official told Reuters.

The Eventin tanker with a batch of 100 thousand tons of oil was heading from Ust-Luga to India and on January 9, the ship's engine failed off the coast of Germany. The tanker began to drift into the territorial waters of Germany, where it was towed to Sassnitz. Next, the German customs confiscated the ship with cargo, which is estimated at 40 million euros.

Eventin is considered a grey fleet tanker and has been sanctioned The EU has already been detained. As reported by Der Spiegel, the German authorities decided to show Russia that they do not intend to tolerate the supply of Russian oil bypassing sanctions.

"From the point of view of the chancellery and the Foreign Ministry, an unusually tough action is designed to send a signal to Russia that Germany will not sit back and watch the transit of Russian oil through the Baltic Sea," the newspaper wrote.

The vessel itself, according to Equasis, belongs to Laliya Shipping and is operated by Vaigai Lines, registered in the Marshall Islands. The oil itself is reportedly owned by an Indian company.