The German Maritime Rescue Service confirmed on Friday that the vessel, Eventin, which is carrying approximately 99,000 tonnes of oil, will be towed to safety by German authorities.

The 274-meter-long tanker measuring 48 meters wide was en route from Ust-Luga in Russia to Port Said in Egypt when it suffered the mechanical failure.

The cause of the engine trouble is currently unknown but the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando) has reassured the public that the tanker remains watertight and does not pose an immediate environmental threat.

Despite these reassurances, the Eventin has raised significant concerns due to its ties to the so-called Russian “shadow fleet”. The tanker is listed by the environmental group Greenpeace as one of the vessels believed to be involved in illicit oil exports, circumventing sanctions imposed on Russia.

Built in 2006, the Eventin is part of a fleet of aging ships that have been repurposed to help Russia continue exporting oil despite Western sanctions.

Thilo Maack, a marine biologist from Greenpeace, has now called on the European Union to take stronger action against such vessels.

He said: “The EU’s latest package of sanctions is an important step, but it is nowhere near enough to protect the Baltic Sea.

“We call on the EU to adopt further, urgently needed sanctions based on the Greenpeace list of the most dangerous oil tankers."

Maack also warned of the devastating impact an oil spill in the Baltic Sea could have on the region's fragile marine ecosystem. “An oil spill in the Baltic Sea would be a catastrophe for the marine mammals, seabirds and other species that live here and would seriously endanger their habitat. Just recently, more than 40 strictly protected grey seals died on the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” he said.