Germany Detains Tanker for Customs and Seaworthiness Inspections
German authorities confirmed they are continuing to detain the Panama-flagged tanker Eventin (152,000 dwt) after the vessel’s blackout and rescue from the Baltic on January 10. In addition to waiting for confirmation from the vessel’s classification society of the repairs and seaworthiness of the ship, the authorities confirmed Customs inspectors have boarded the vessel.
The General Customs Inspection Office reported that its inspectors were aboard checking the vessel’s paperwork on Tuesday and Wednesday. They also sampled the 100,000 tons of oil aboard and have submitted it for testing. They are seeking to confirm the validity of the papers and exploring if the cargo is a violation of the EU bans imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A spokesperson for Customs said the process is expected to take several more days.
The captain of the vessel has reportedly filed for permission to depart Germany after the Federal Ministry of Transport was informed the engine has been repaired. The Eventin was towed by the German rescue services on January 10 into the anchorage at Sassnitz after it blacked out during a storm in the Baltic. The original plan called for the vessel to be moved to Denmark on Monday, but the German authorities issued a detention order.
The vessel, which was built in 2006 has been registered since 2022 in Panama. Databases list DNV as its class society. Ownership and management of the vessel have changed annually in the past few years according to the databases and it was renamed Eventin in June 2024. The ship has been listed in the EU sanctions and cited for its involvement in the Russian oil trade.
The Federal Ministry of Transport confirmed that class inspectors had been aboard. It said it was waiting for the results of its tests before determining when the tanker would be permitted to depart.
The tanker’s AIS signal shows it departed the Russian terminal at Ust-luga on January 7 bound for Port Said. Media reports indicate its destination was India.
Customs checks of the cargo aboard a vessel have become a more common cause for vessels to be detained since the institution of the sanctions against Russia. Last year, Germany held a general cargo ship transporting lumber from Russia and Finland has also been checking the cargo of the tanker Eagle S after the tanker was detained for damaging the undersea cables in the Baltic. Finnish Customs announced today it would not be pursuing charges of sanctions violations for bringing banned oil products into Finland aboard the Eagle S. The authorities determined the crew was not responsible as the Finnish authorities had ordered the vessel to Finnish territorial waters. The tanker however remains detained in Finland due to the other ongoing investigation.