Russian shadow fleet: Baerbock warns of oil tankers of Rügen!

On January 10, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock commented on a damaged oil tanker in front of Rügen. In her opinion, she warned of the dangers that Russia represents for European security. Baerbock named several threats that arise from Russia: the war of international law on Ukraine, cut-cut cables, displaced bicycles, disinformation campaigns, GPS disks and the use of brass oil tankers.

Particularly criticized Baerbock the use of old tankers by Russia to avoid sanctions and emphasized the negative effects on tourism in the Baltic Sea. In this context, it compares the current situation with the earlier representation of Nordstream 2 as a purely economic project. The EU has pushed the sanction lists against the Russian shadow fleet in recent months, with over 70 ships being sanctioned. Baerbock underlined the unity of Europe, the Baltic Sea rainer, the EU and NATO.

environmental protection and economy

parallel to Baerbock's statements warn Greenpeace activists of the dangers of old tankers, which pose a high risk of the environment. These tankers are part of the shadow fleet financed by Russia, which supports the war in Ukraine. Despite the likely sanctions, the Russian economy is growing, which is partly due to this shadow fleet. Between January 2021 and the current period, the trips of the oil tankers rose by 70 percent, with around 1,000 tankers loaded with oil last year passed the German coast - an average of two to three a day.

The shadow fleet consists of 591 tankers, according to the rating agency S&P Global, many of which cross nature reserves such as the cadeau in the Mecklenburg bay. Due to the EU embargo for Russian oil imports and an international oil price lid, no Russian oil has been able to be landed on European ports since the end of 2022. Despite more than 13,500 sanctions introduced, the oil business is booming in Russia, with customers in China, India and Turkey.

The average age of the tanker in the shadow fleet is 17 years old, which is considered too high. Greenpeace calls for a harder access to this fleet and has created a list of 200 freighters classified as dangerous. In June 2024, the EU for the first time put 27 shadow tankers on a sanction list, while the European Parliament demands targeted measures against the shadow fleet and better monitoring of the transports.

For the G7 countries, the challenge is to better enforce the oil price limit and to proceed against loopholes in order to further difficult.