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A loaded oil tanker that lost the ability to manoeuvre in the Baltic Sea near the German island of R\u00fcgen was being towed almost 25 kilometres eastwards by three tugs.<\/p>\n
The towing operation was proceeding very slowly at one to two knots (1.85-3.7 kilometres per hour), explained a spokesperson for Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME). The manoeuvre was expected to take about eight hours.<\/p>\n
The stricken tanker Eventin, loaded with 99,000 tons of oil, had to be moved for safety reasons. There is a little more free sea space to the south in case of an emergency, the CCME spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Strong winds from the north were forecast for Friday night. So far, the island of R\u00fcgen has been directly south of the stricken 274-metre-long and 48-metre-wide ship.<\/p>\n
The Eventin, which was built in 2006 and is sailing under a Panamanian flag, was en route from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Egypt’s Port Said, according to the ship tracking platform Vesselfinder.<\/p>\n
The ship 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 compiled by the environmental advocacy organization Greenpeace.<\/p>\n
Ships in the “shadow fleet” are often outdated and in poor operating condition.<\/p>\n
The Eventin suffered an engine failure and was drifting in the Baltic Sea before being secured, according to CCME. The cause of the engine failure remained initially unclear.<\/p>\n