Overview
- The Bundesfinanzhof rejected customs’ appeal, leaving in place a lower court’s suspension of orders to confiscate and sell the vessel and its oil.
- The tanker has been anchored off Rügen for about eleven months with roughly 100,000 tonnes of oil after a January systems failure left it adrift.
- Judges flagged uncertainty over whether an involuntary drift counts as prohibited “bringing into the Union” under EU sanctions, noting the right of innocent passage and the Nothafenrecht.
- Main proceedings at the customs authority continue, and owner Laliya Shipping Corp. is separately challenging the EU listing that classifies Eventin as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
- Environmental and operational concerns persist, with NGOs urging offloading and regional officials indicating no suitable German port has been identified for relocation or pumping.