Tankers thought to be part of Russia's shadow fleet used to evade Western oil sanctions have been sighted closer to Germany's Baltic Sea coast, environmental organization Greenpeace reported on Tuesday.
It said the vessels appeared to be avoiding the Swedish coastline, after Swedish authorities recently acted against suspect tankers, halting them.
The analysis found that between March 6 and June 16, 42 of 136 tankers took the longer route past Germany's Baltic Sea island of Rügen. No tankers took that route during the same period last year.
Greenpeace spokesman Thilo Maack called for firmer German action, pointing to the Swedish example. He said reports to the German authorities had not been acted on. According to Greenpeace, 30 tankers even entered Germany's 12-mile zone.
A German customs spokesman said the Greenpeace figures could not be confirmed. He noted that the right of free passage, even through the 12-nautical-mile (22-kilometre) territorial zone, was guaranteed under UN agreements.
Greenpeace has expressed concerns about the environmental consequences of a shipwreck, noting that the tankers in the fleet are old, poorly maintained and often uninsured.
Russia is using the fleet to evade sanctions imposed in response to the war in Ukraine. Apart from Sweden, France and Britain have halted shadow fleet tankers.
