The tanker Pegas, weighing 115,500 tons, sailed under the Russian flag and had 19 crew members on board, which also consisted of Russians. Authorities detained the vessel near the town of Karystos, which lies in the southern part of the island of Evia.
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“The Coast Guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering office to release the vessel,” a Greek government source told Reuters. He did not provide details. The Coast Guard confirmed his words, but pointed out that the decision had not yet been officially delivered to the crew of the Russian ship.
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The Coast Guard said Tuesday that only the ship had been detained. The cargo of oil she carried was not confiscated. The vessel is managed by TransMorFlot, a company registered in the Russian Federation.
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Close sources said that, after a thorough inspection, the authorities found no legal reason to continue detaining the Russian vessel. The ship has recently had a new owner who is not on the EU sanctions list.
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The Pegas, which was renamed Lana in March and now uses the name Lana, reported an engine problem. She was heading to the southern part of the Peloponnese to transfer cargo to another tanker. However, the stormy sea forced the crew to anchor near the town of Karystos, where the vessels seized the Greek authorities.
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Russian troops launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Since then, the EU has imposed a number of sanctions on Russia, both on individuals and businesses. It last approved two weeks of sanctions two weeks ago, which includes a ban on Russian coal imports into the EU, effective from 10 August. The United States welcomed Tuesday’s news that Greece had decided to detain the Russian tanker.
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