Last week the German authorities ordered the vessel Tavian not to enter German territorial waters after inspection of the ship’s papers resulted in a finding that the vessel was sailing under a false flag and with a fake IMO number, and a suspicion that the tanker was being used to ship Russian oil.
The vessel complied with the order and turned around before returning to the North Sea and turning off its transponder.
Other reports include a comment from the Bundespolizei that they could not comment on an “ongoing operational procedure”.