A tanker that lost control and is believed to be part of Russia's sanctions evasion program was found drifting off the coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea.
On Saturday, the German tug Bremen Fighter successfully towed it to safety near the nearby island of Rügen.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the incident as a threat to security and tourism in the Baltic Sea.
The ship Eventin, flying the Panamanian flag, was transporting 99,000 tons of oil from Russia and was headed for Egypt. The German news agency dpa reported that there is no immediate danger to the environment.
Greenpeace stated that the Eventin is part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet, which consists of hundreds of outdated tankers that generate revenue from oil sales for the Russian state budget while circumventing sanctions. These sanctions were imposed following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to Baerbock, this incident demonstrates that Russia jeopardizes European security "not only through its aggressive war in Ukraine" but also through sabotage, disinformation, "and even decrepit oil tankers."
She emphasized that Russia is not only evading sanctions "by maliciously using a fleet of rusty tankers" but is also threatening tourism in the Baltic Sea.