The German federal government claims it cannot quantify how many ships of Russia’s shadow fleet have traversed Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone since 2022. This uncertainty is highlighted in the cabinet’s response to a parliamentary question (Kleiner Anfrage) from the Green Party, which the magazine “Spiegel” reported on.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the proportion of so‑called “sub‑standard vessels” is “undetermined” because these ships deliberately avoid port states’ inspections. Sub‑standard vessels are those that fail to meet international safety, environmental, or social standards. As of the end of November, authorities had taken action against only one shadow‑fleet ship; a second case emerged in December.
Anton Hofreiter, a Green member of parliament who initiated the inquiry, sharply criticized the government, saying that its inaction allows the financing of Russia’s war through the export of Russian oil from the Baltic Sea-a transport route that poses a major environmental hazard.
The merchant‑ship community shares the concern. The Association of German Shipping Companies (Verband Deutscher Reeder) warned that the shadow fleet’s regular disabling of tracking systems represents a “massive environmental risk”. An oil spill from a tanker in the Baltic Sea would have catastrophic effects on the fragile ecosystem of the almost closed inland sea, and in such an event, insurers are frequently absent, leaving the neighboring states to shoulder the costs.
In a November paper, experts from the German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (GIDS), a Bundeswehr think‑tank, called for a central European information hub – the proposed “Fusion Center”. The centre would compile data from European authorities and produce a joint maritime situational picture.
Faced with the Green Party’s question, the government responded evasively, stating that it was continuously assessing the effectiveness of sanctions. It denied the existence of “significant data gaps” or “cooperation deficits” within the EU.
