BERLIN (Reuters) – A German court will weigh a request to release a seized oil tanker that is believed to be part of a so-called shadow fleet used by Russia to circumvent oil sanctions, Germany’s finance ministry said on Monday.
The Panama-flagged vessel, the Eventin, was found drifting out of control off Germany’s Baltic Sea coast in January. It had been on its way from Russia to Egypt with a cargo of around 100,000 metric tons of oil, worth some 40 million euros ($45.24 million).
German authorities confiscated the decrepit vessel, which was included in an EU sanctions package targeting Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and sharply rebuked Moscow over the incident.
Russian authorities at the time said they had no information about the ship or its owner.
A spokesman for Germany’s finance ministry said on Monday that it was pausing further enforcement measures pending a court’s decision regarding the vessel.
“Appeals for interim relief have now been filed with the competent court against the seizure and confiscation of the ship and its cargo,” the spokesman said.
The finance ministry declined to reveal the identity of the plaintiff, whether the petition had been brought by the owner of the ship or its cargo, or how long the legal process would last.
The Eventin is currently moored off the resort town of Sassnitz.
It will soon be relocated to a hazardous goods anchorage about three nautical miles away, but it is deemed seaworthy and poses no current threat, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.
EU sanctions have aimed to put pressure on Russia and limit its ability to finance the war in Ukraine by targeting the “shadow fleet” – vessels used by Russia to move oil, arms and grains around in violation of sanctions.
The vessels are not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers, and, with little incentive to follow shipping standards, they pose safety and environmental risks, industry experts say.
($1 = 0.8841 euros)
(Reporting by Holger Hansen and Andreas Rinke; Writing by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Miranda Murray and Joe Bavier)
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