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Zombie tanker turned away from German waters in fears of detention
On the early morning of Jan 10 the "Tavian" entered the German North Sea. The German Federal Police dispatched a helicopter and radioed the captain of the shadow tanker, demanding to see all the ship's necessary documents. The "Tavian," which at that time was west of the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, was en route to the Baltic Sea, most likely to one of the Russian oil ports near St. Petersburg. Once the ship had passed Denmark and was approaching German waters again, this time off Flensburg, the Federal Police prohibited the vessel from entering German territorial waters. The examination of the documents confirmed the authorities' suspicions, that the ship was sailing under a false flag, and its identification number was also forged. The ship has been on a US sanctions list since 2021. On the evening, the "Tavian" turned around off Langeland island and left the Baltic Sea after being already approached by the patrol boat 'Bayreuth'. Apparently, the captain feared his ship would be seized. The authorities subsequently informed the Interior Ministry of the incident. As of Jan 15, the tanker had reached the waters of the Norwegian Sea and had turned off its AIS transponder. On Jan 16 the tanker sailed into the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea enroute to Murmansk. The ship is in fact the 28-year-old 'Arcusat'. The real IMO number of the ship is 9147447 and its current flag state is Cameroon. It has changed its name 11 times since 2013.
Shadow tanker transiting English Channel under false name
The Russian shadow tanker, 'Tavian 'has been spotted sailing through the English Channel under a false name, in what appears to be another attempt to evade sanctions, on Jan 8,. 2026. The vessel was sanctioned in Aug 2024 as "Tia," later renamed "Tavian," and is now operating as Arcusat, reflagged to Cameroon. It had departed from the STAR Rafineri near Izmir on Dec 30, 2025, and is believed to be heading toward Russia. The destination given was Gulf of Finland with an ETA as of Jan 13. The ship was broadcasting the IMO number of a vessel that has been scrapped or deregistered, attempting to disguise itself as a different unsanctioned vessel. It has changed names and flags and claims a different identity to avoid detection. The British governmentwas tracking the 'Tavian', as deterring, disrupting and degrading the Russian shadow fleet was a priority for the government. The "Tavian" had passed the island of Fehmarn on Dec 10th, escorted by two Russian destroyers. On board were 100,000 tons of crude oil, loaded in the Russian port of Primorsk. The ship was bullt in 1998 under the name "Nordmark" (IMO: 9147447). In Aug 2024, the tanker, then operating as the "Tia," was sanctioned. In Oct 2024, the "Tia" used its original IMO number for the last time during an AIS transmission. After disappearing in the Persian Gulf, the ship reappeared in March 2025 as the "Tavian" with the new IMO-No.1095337. This number identified it as a newbuild from the Chinese shipyard Linhai Huajie Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. The "Tavian" is said to be the 13th name of the original "Nordmark."
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