Germany Prevented A Russian Tanker From Entering The Baltic Sea Through Its Territorial Waters

• 15.01.2026, 22:54

The ship was flying a false flag.

Germany did not let the oil tanker Tavian into its territorial waters. This was reported by the publications NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung. They claim the vessel belongs to Russia's "shadow fleet."

It happened on January 10. The tanker was in the North Sea west of Schleswig-Holstein and was heading towards the Baltic Sea, at which point a German Federal Police helicopter approached the tanker.

When the vessel was passing Denmark and approached German territorial waters again, the police transmitted a no-entry message to the vessel. After that, the ship changed course and left the Baltic Sea.

According to the publication, the study of documents confirmed the fears of the authorities: the ship was traveling under a false flag, and the identification number was forged. The material says that such ships, which formally do not exist, the German authorities call "zombie ships".