France has seized a tanker linked to the shadow fleet operated by Russia after a French Navy interception operation in the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed.
In a statement, Macron said the vessel originated from Russia, was subject to international sanctions, and was suspected of operating under a false flag. The operation was conducted on the high seas with the support of allied nations and in full compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“We will let nothing slide,” the French president said, confirming that a judicial investigation has now been opened and that the tanker has been diverted under French authority.
According to Macron, the interception formed part of wider efforts to enforce international sanctions and prevent circumvention mechanisms used to sustain Russia’s war economy. “We are determined to enforce international law and ensure the effectiveness of sanctions,” he said.
The shadow fleet refers to a network of ageing tankers used to transport Russian oil outside price cap regimes, often operating through opaque ownership structures, frequent reflagging, and limited insurance coverage. Western governments have increasingly warned that the practice not only undermines sanctions enforcement but also poses environmental and maritime safety risks. Macron directly linked the operation to the war in Ukraine, stating that “the activities of the shadow fleet contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine.”
And what will they do with in now ?
Well if the US is the guide sell the oil and put much of the profit into Macron’s pocket. Though hopefully a more moral approach might prevail.
Sell the oil and give the profit to Ukraine!
Nice one France,Vlad wont be happy!
Maybe they listened to Newsom and Zelensky today. Hopefully all of Europe did. I think it has only reflected views on here when the BBC stated that the UK was the third highest NATO spenders when the Ukraine war started, while 3 years later we are the 12th. Proves the BS from Starmer, who had the cheek to recently call on others to do more as he trumpeted our mythical 5% figure.
Vive La France.
I expect we will be desperate to do so ourselves now they have acted.
HMG rarely miss the chance of a bit of grandstanding.
Only thinking this morning about the lack of control of such ships through the Channel. I don’t know what Treaties allow and don’t allow, not that Treaties seem to mean much now but but surely Britain and France can and indeed should have a duty to ensure dodgy ships in terms of ownership, origin, ‘illegal’ flagging and un established insurance and safety standards can be banned from this waterway. We see now not only are they into illegal traffic but risk a major disaster and even be weaponised as the Chinese are demonstrating and the Russians are accused of deploying drones at various locations. It’s a different World and I think we need to face up to that.
Tidesurge went out a couple of hours ago, probably doing Frigate stuff In the Channel again ! There does seem to be a fair smattering of ships in Weymouth Bay today.
Oh and Stirling Castle hasn’t moved an Inch since last time I was here.
About time someone else did this. The USA has already seized 4 or 5 of them already
Correction, they have in fact seized 7
Recent history from Wikipedia below (edited for brevity).
So, no, the USA did not lead by example – they arrived late again and claimed victory … again (just kidding)
On 11 April 2025, the Estonian Navy minehunter EML Admiral Cowan seized a flagless tanker pretending to be registered in Djibouti, the Kiwala, in the Baltic Sea.
On 10 May 2025, after unidentified drones were spotted over a military site in Kiel, German authorities asked the Netherlands Coastguard to look out for the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged freighter Dolphin, manned by an all-Russian crew. The vessel was in effect stopped and searched by the Dutch authorities who found no evidence that drones were operated from the ship.
On 13 May, the Estonian Navy’s patrol vessel EML Raju escorted the Gabonese-flagged tanker Jaguar out of Estonia’s territorial waters…
On 17 May, while shadowing the Russian-crewed freighter Luga in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), unidentified drones overflown the German Federal Coast Guard patrol boat Potsdam for three hours before entering Dutch waters. The Luga was eventually searched by Belgian authorities, who didn’t find any traces of drone activity.[25]
On 21 May, a shadow fleet tanker, the Sun, waving the Antigua and Barbuda flag, was spotted sailing around an undersea 600-megawatt power line linking Sweden and Poland. The vessel was scared off by a Polish aerial patrol, and later the area was sweeped by the Polish research ship ORP Heweliusz.[28]
On 16 June, for the first time, the Russian Navy began to escort shadow fleet tankers in convoys, …
On 7 September, German Special Police forces seized and searched the Russian-crewed coaster Scanlark in the Kiel Canal. The vessel was suspected of operating a spy drone that overflew a German Navy warship on 26 August. The ship was owned by the Estonian company Vista Shipping Agency and registered under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
On 30 September, French naval forces seized the sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tanker Boracay, hoisting the flag of Benin by Saint Nazaire. The ship was suspected of being one of three tankers which launched drones over Denmark between 22 and 28 September, disrupting Copenhagen Airport operations. …
On 20 November, the American destroyer USS Stockdale intercepted the Comorian-flagged tanker Seahorse, a sanctioned Russian shadow fleet ship sailing in the Caribbean Sea towards Venezuela. The Russian vessel was forced to shift course to Cuba.
On 2 January 2026, a Finnish coastguard vessel, supported by helicopters and special troops, captured the St. Vincent and the Grenadines flagged freighter Fitburg, bound to Haifa from St. Petersburg. …
On 7 January, the US Navy and the US Coast Guard seized the Russian flagged tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic, after being shadowed by the patrol vessel USCG Munro for several weeks. The tanker has previously bore the name Bella I and hoisted the flag of Guyana.
Plus the ones that Ukraine just straightaway sank 🙂