Germany seized a decrepit tanker found adrift off its northern coast in January that is believed to be part of a shadow fleet used by Russia to circumvent oil sanctions.

Axar.az informs Spiegel news magazine reported on Friday, citing security sources.

The Panama-flagged ship, called Eventin, was secured by German maritime authorities after being found off the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, prompting Berlin to sharply rebuke Moscow. The tanker had been heading from Russia to Egypt.

Spiegel reported that a confiscation order has been issued for the tanker, meaning the vessel and its cargo of around 100,000 metric tons of oil, worth some 40 million euros ($43.33 million), now become German property.

Moscow has no information about the ship and no knowledge about its owner or reasons for its seizure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, responding to a Reuters query.

Eventin was included in the European Union's 16th package of sanctions targeting Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.