Tanker with Russian crude oil drifts on the Baltic Sea - Germany alerts emergency tugboats

A tanker loaded with Russian crude oil has broken down on the Baltic Sea between Rügen and the Danish island of Møn after a propulsion problem. This is what the “Kieler Nachrichten” reports. German and Danish authorities were therefore monitoring the situation. An emergency tug was sent to the ship from Sassnitz.

The tanker “Sled” was apparently on its way from the Russian port of Primorsk to Skagen in Denmark when it had problems with its propulsion during the night on the way to the cadet channel. According to the automatic ship identification system AIS, the ship, built in South Korea in 2005, slowed down at around 1:30 a.m. and finally came to a standstill. The strong easterly wind is said to have driven the tanker from the German coast towards Denmark.

The Warnemünde traffic center then alerted the emergency tug “VB Bremen Fighter”. The Danish naval command monitored the incident. The tanker was initially half a nautical mile outside Danish territorial waters. The maritime radio station Lyngby Radio maintained contact with the crew.

Russian naval units were also in the region during the operation. This included the landing ship “Aleksandr Shabalin,” which escorts Russian merchant ships. Another Russian naval ship was near Fehmarn.

Another tanker under observation

The tanker “Myra” had previously come into the attention of the German authorities. The federal police observed the ship coming from Russia at night with the emergency ship “Bamberg”. The tanker, built in 2006, changed the flag of Madagascar for that of Cameroon while sailing on the Baltic Sea. He passed the Fehmarnbelt on Sunday night. The “Myra” is on sanctions lists of the European Union, Great Britain, Switzerland and Canada.