German court blocks authorities from selling suspected Russian oil tanker cargo

Germany's top fiscal court has ruled that authorities cannot for now sell or otherwise use an oil tanker and its cargo seized off the Baltic Sea coast, siding with the vessel's owners in two separate cases.

The Federal Fiscal Court said on Thursday the owners, who were not named, had previously won a lower court challenge against customs authorities' confiscation proceedings. Customs officials appealed, but the federal court upheld the earlier decision.

The Panama-flagged tanker, the Eventin, was found drifting off Germany's coast in January after departing Russia with about 100,000 metric tons of oil worth around 40 million euros ($47 million). The court said it was bound for India.

German authorities suspect the vessel is part of a "shadow fleet" used by Russia to skirt European Union sanctions imposed after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Such ships, often uninsured and operating outside conventional standards, pose safety and environmental risks, industry experts say.

Other European countries have raised similar concerns. In October, French military personnel boarded a suspected shadow-fleet tanker near Saint Nazaire.

Germany’s finance ministry, which oversees customs, said the court's decision was preliminary and a final ruling on what authorities can do with the tanker is pending. The ministry confirmed the vessel remains moored off the island of Ruegen but declined to comment on next steps.

Russian authorities have said they have no information about the ship or its owner.

EU sanctions aim to pressure Moscow and curb its ability to finance the war in Ukraine by targeting shadow-fleet vessels used to transport oil, arms and grain despite restrictions.