German court has not yet approved confiscation of damaged Russian shadow fleet tanker

The German Federal Fiscal Court has not yet authorised the confiscation of the damaged oil tanker Eventin, which is regarded as part of Russia's shadow fleet.

Source: German newspaper Der Spiegel, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) has so far not given permission to confiscate the vessel and its cargo because of "reasonable doubt as to the legality of the seizure measures".

There is also no clarity as to whether this tanker may enter EU waters in the event of an emergency.

The Eventin, carrying 100,000 tonnes of oil, has been lying for almost a year off the German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, where it was towed after a technical failure left the tanker unmanoeuvrable. The vessel had been sailing from Russian ports near St Petersburg to India and had previously made such voyages on a regular basis.

There are concerns that the damaged tanker is a "floating environmental bomb" and that the oil on board needs to be pumped off as soon as possible.

The formal owner of the Eventin, Laliya Shipping Corp. from the Marshall Islands, is suing the EU over the tanker's classification as part of the "shadow fleet".

Background: At the end of March Germany replaced the crew on Eventin and took control of the vessel, including its cargo.

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