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.
The tanker was sailing from Murmansk in northern Russia and is subject to international sanctions, President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He added that the vessel was suspected of operating under a false flag.
The operation was carried out with support from several allies, including the United Kingdom, which gathered and shared intelligence that enabled the ship to be intercepted, French military officials told the Associated Press news agency.
Dark vessels: how Russia steers clear of Western sanctions with a shadow fleet
Financing the war
“The activities of the shadow fleet contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine,” Macron said.
The European Union has imposed 19 packages of sanctions on Russia so far. Despite those measures, Moscow continues to sell millions of barrels of oil to countries such as India and China, typically at discounted prices.
Much of that oil is carried by a shadow fleet of vessels operating outside of the Western maritime industry.
After the boarding, the Grinch was diverted and is being escorted to a point of anchorage for further checks, the Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture said.
“After the team boarded, an examination of documents confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag."
The case was referred to the Marseille prosecutor, which handles matters related to maritime law. In October, France detained another sanctioned tanker, the Boracay, off its west coast and released it after a few days.
(with newswires)
