France says it has seized an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet”.<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron said the tanker, named the Grinch, was “subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag”.<\/p>\n
The French navy, with the assistance of allies including the UK, boarded the vessel on Thursday morning between Spain and Morocco. French maritime authorities said that a search of the vessel had “confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag”.<\/p>\n
Russia’s embassy in Paris said it had not been informed of the seizure.<\/p>\n
Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet is a clandestine network of tankers used to evade Western sanctions on Russian oil exports by shipping the oil on aged tankers with obscure ownership or insurance.<\/p>\n
The Grinch was travelling from the Arctic port of Murmansk in northern Russia when it was intercepted, French authorities said. The vessel had been flying a Comoros flag, according to ship tracking websites marinetraffic and vesselfinder.<\/p>\n
Announcing the seizure on X, Macron said: “We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions.<\/p>\n
“The activities of the “shadow fleet” contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said, adding that the vessel had been “diverted”.<\/p>\n
Defence Secretary John Healy said the UK navy had provided “tracking and monitoring” support, with HMS Dagger monitoring the tanker through the Straits of Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
He added: “Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels to choke off the funds that fuel Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”<\/p>\n
The UK has imposed sanctions on 544 Russian shadow fleet vessels. <\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the action, saying it was “exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia’s war”.<\/p>\n
“Vessels must be apprehended. And wouldn’t it be fair to confiscate and sell the oil carried by these tankers?” he said on X.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Davos earlier, Zelensky exhorted Europe to do more to ensure its own security, saying: “Europe loves to discuss the future but avoids taking action”.<\/p>\n
Many Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n