A tanker heavily loaded with oil remained adrift in heavy seas off the northern coast of Germany, with Berlin saying it was part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet."

Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) said Friday evening the ship had lost power and steering. Three tugboats have been dispatched to secure the vessel, along with a team of towing specialists dropped onto the vessel by helicopter.

"The emergency towing specialists are to ensure that the load of the 274-meter-long tanker is safely and
evenly distributed among the tugboats," a CCME spokesperson told DPA news agency. 

Heavy wind and waves of up to 2.5 meters have been reported in the area, with weather conditions expected to remain rough over the next 24 hours. 

The command said that no oil leaks were reported due to the incident.

What do we know about the vessel?

Moscow has used a number of opaquely owned and often non-insured ships to sell its oil while circumventing Western sanctions imposed in response to the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Panamanian-flagged Eventin was carrying 99,000 tons of oil when it was reported adrift, the CCME said.

The vessel was on its way from Russia's Ust-Luga port to Egypt's Port Said port, the CCME said. It became stricken and was "drifting at low speed in the coastal waters" when it was found overnight into Friday morning. 

An emergency tug intercepted the tanker off the island of Rügen, located off the northeastern Baltic coast. 

The CCME initially said that the emergency tug boat Bremen Fighter would tow the Eventin to a port, but a spokesman for the command later told DPA that the tanker would not be moved for the time being.

Next steps were being discussed with the authorities and the shipping company, the spokesman added.

Berlin slams Russia's 'dilapidated oil tankers'

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticised Russia's reliance on rundown tankers in its "shadow fleet," warning it was a threat to European security.

"By ruthlessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not only circumventing the sanctions, but is also willingly accepting that tourism on the Baltic Sea will come to a standstill" in the event of an accident, Baerbock said, describing the tankers as "dilapidated."

Besides the Western sanctions against Russia's oil industry, the US and European countries have also been imposing sanctions on ships believed to be part of the "shadow fleet."

So far, the European Union has sanctioned over 70 ships, while the US and the UK announced on Friday fresh sanctions on some 180 ships, all believed to be part of the fleet.

rmt/wmr (AFP, dpa)