A "zombie" Tanker Passed Off The German Coast For The First Time

He was transporting Russian oil.

In early December, a Russian tanker, which the maritime industry refers to as a so-called "zombie" tanker - old ships with illegally changed unique identification number of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) - passed the Baltic coast of Germany for the first time. As The Insider found out, the vessel has repeatedly visited Russian ports, in particular Primorsk.

It was reported by Deutsche Welle, the information was confirmed to the publication by the German state shipping security service (Dienstststelle Schiffssicherheit).

The oil tanker Tavian, which passed through the Baltic Sea with a cargo of Russian oil, has come under suspicion. The vessel uses IMO number 1095337, which, according to the agency, may be fake. According to German experts, the Tavian is actually the tanker Tia, previously registered under IMO number 9147447. In that case, it is one of the oldest large oil tankers still in service. The Shipping Security Service stressed that this is the first recorded case of a "zombie" tanker off the German coast.

The vessel was first reported by industry magazine Lloyd's List on November 18. The publication classified the Tia as a "shadow fleet" and pointed out that the IMO number it uses is completely fabricated and does not exist in the International Maritime Organization's database. In August 2024, the tanker came under US sanctions.

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