Germany has seized an oil tanker, the Eventin, which it attributes to the Russian shadow fleet. On board, there are approximately 100,000 tons of crude oil worth 40 million euros, which the Federal Republic of Germany has now taken possession of.
The tanker, flying the Panamanian flag, had run aground in the Baltic Sea in January and was subsequently rendered unable to maneuver. It drifted into German waters, where it was detained. An investigation was launched, but no initial suspicion of a criminal offense was found and the case seemed to be closed.
However, the ship was officially seized last week. The fate of the crew remains unclear. Germany now considers the 100,000 tons of crude oil as its property.
The German government believes its action sends a clear signal to Russia that it will not tolerate the circumvention of sanctions. The European Union has imposed a price cap on oil to limit Russia’s earnings from the oil trade. So far, this measure has been largely ineffective.
Whether the international community shares Germany’s legal assessment, which holds that Germany has the right to detain and seize the ship, is more than questionable. Germany argues that the ship illegally introduced oil into the EU, but the Eventin did not independently enter German territorial waters, but was instead driven there by the current and eventually towed into the port of Rügen.
The ownership of the vessel remains unclear. A more plausible interpretation is that Germany has violated the rules of international maritime law and the law of the sea. In Russia, the seizure is already being referred to as piracy.
In February, Sascha Lohmann, an expert on sanctions, told the NDR that, based on the facts, he did not believe the Eventin would be held in Germany. Germany has now decided on this drastic step.
Germany argues that Russia, due to its war costs, is dependent on foreign currency and that the reduction of Russia’s earnings from the energy trade has an impact on the country’s ability to finance the war. However, a connection between the sanctions regime and the course of the military special operation has not been proven so far.