The stricken tanker “Eventin” lies safely in the roadstead off Sassnitz. The German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando) has ended its mission and the shipowner is now responsible.
The state rescue vessels have been replaced by commercial tugs organised by the owner of the stricken tanker. According to the CCME, the plan is to tow the ship from its current position to a port. The stricken vessel should be towed towards Skagen at the northern tip of Denmark this evening, thus leaving the Baltic Sea.
The Panama-flagged Suezmax tanker, coming from Ust-Luga in Russia, had become unmanoeuvrable after a blackout and subsequent engine failure on board and was in danger of drifting uncontrollably around 20 km off Rügen. With the help of intervention vessels and a salvage team, the tanker was secured and brought to calmer waters off Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in good time before the weather deteriorated.
The situation is stable overall and there is no longer any acute danger, the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies announced at the end of a three-day operation on Sunday. The ship, which is still unable to manoeuvre, is being held in position around 5 km off the coast by the tugs “VB Meteor” and “VB Bremen” until further notice.
There are 24 crew members on board the 274-metre-long tanker. They had been without electricity, heating or running water since the blackout. During a visit to the ship, a doctor from the Federal Police ascertained that no acute medical assistance was required. Emergency generators, fuel, heaters, lamps and fresh supplies were also brought on board. The shipowner is now responsible for everything else.
Tanker belongs to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet
The 248-metre-long Suezmax tanker (152,000 dwt) had loaded almost 100,000 tons of oil in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga on the border with Estonia and had cast off there last Monday (6 January). The port of destination was Port Said in Egypt.
VesselsValue names the shipping company Vaigai Lines from the United Arab Emirates as the ship manager, while the owner is Laliya Shipping from the Marshall Islands, apparently a one-ship company. The ship was built as the “Storviken” for Norwegian clients in 2006.
Greenpeace attributes the tanker to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which is used to circumvent sanctions and ship Russian oil, primarily to India. According to the environmental organisation, the “Eventin” has already attracted negative attention several times in the past. The ships in the shadow fleet are often sailing without insurance cover and with technical defects.
