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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

French navy intercepts sanctioned Russian tanker in Mediterranean

This handout photo released by the French defence staff on 22 January 2026 shows a French Navy helicopter flying over the oil tanker Grinch in the Mediterranean Sea. AFP - HANDOUT

France intercepted a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday in a joint operation with allies targeting Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, which enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions imposed following its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The French Navy boarded and searched the tanker, named the Grinch, in the western Mediterranean between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco, French maritime authorities said.

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