Stricken Russian-Oil Tanker Cannot Be Seized for Now, German Court Rules

A German court has ruled that customs authorities cannot seize the Eventin, a tanker carrying Russian crude that suffered a near-fatal breakdown in the Baltic Sea earlier this year, after emergency legal proceedings against the ship’s owner were discontinued.

The Hamburg Finance Court, which handled the fast-track case, said the Federal Customs Administration must now await a decision in the main proceedings before any seizure can take place. The ruling is a setback for German authorities seeking to detain one of the many vessels linked to Moscow’s sanctions-bypassing shadow fleet.

The 274-meter Eventin lost all engine and navigation systems in January 2025 while carrying roughly 99,000 metric tons of Russian oil. For hours, the ship drifted unmanned through heavy seas off Germany’s Baltic coast before rescue crews were able to secure tow lines and bring it under control.

The tanker has remained moored off the island of Rügen ever since. The European Union later designated it as part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a network of aging and often poorly maintained vessels used to circumvent Western oil embargoes and price caps.

The shipowner challenged that designation, arguing that the Eventin entered an EU port area solely because of a technical fault. The owner said there was “at no time” any intention to transport sanctioned oil products into the European Union.

That legal dispute is still unresolved, and the vessel remains anchored off Sassnitz — much to the frustration of the government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Regional officials had urged that the Eventin be removed before the tourist season got under way, citing the ship’s condition and the unwelcome message its presence sends to visitors.

The case underscores the legal and logistical hurdles European governments face in dealing with Russia’s shadow fleet, even when a vessel suffers a serious incident in EU waters.