A German court has ordered the confiscation of the oil tanker Eventin and its cargo of approximately 100,000 metric tons of oil, Spiegel reported on Friday.

Should this ruling be upheld, Germany would gain ownership of the ship and its €40 million ($43.3 million) worth of cargo.

The ship, situated in the Baltic Sea near Rügen, raised environmental alarm with its potential to cause an oil spill.

Traveling from Russia to Egypt, the vessel was detained by German authorities in January for an investigation.

Editor: Sean Sinico