A loaded oil tanker that lost its ability to move in the Baltic Sea near the German island of Rügen was being towed nearly 25 kilometers to the east by three tugs.
The towing operation was proceeding very slowly at one to two knots (1.85-3.7 kilometers per hour), explained a spokesman for the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME). The move was expected to take about eight hours.
The stricken tanker Eventin, full of 99,000 tonnes of oil, had to be moved for safety reasons. There is a bit more free sea space to the south in case of an emergency, the CCME spokesman said.
Strong winds were expected from the north on Friday night. Until now, the island of Rügen has been just south of the 274-meter long and 48-meter wide ship that was hit.
The Eventin, built in 2006 and sailing under the Panamanian flag, was en route from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Egypt's Port Said, according to vessel tracking platform Vesselfinder.
The vessel is part of Russia's so-called “shadow fleet” used to export oil despite heavy sanctions on the country, according to a list of Russian-linked vessels sent by the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace together.
Ships in the “shadow fleet” are often outdated and in poor operational condition.
The Eventin suffered engine failure and was drifting in the Baltic Sea before being secured, according to CCME. The cause of the engine failure remained unclear at first.
A view of the unmanned oil tanker “Eventin” off the coast of the island of Ruegen. The oil tanker, which flies the flag of Panama, drifted for several hours in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Ruegen, unable to move – the German emergency services recovered the vessel in the afternoon. Stefan Sauer/dpa
