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!
I doubt there will be any profit to be honest.. that tanker will be an environmental disaster and death trap all in one that will need careful management and disposal.. which will cost a lot so the oil revenue will go to offset that..
I suspect the cost of actual dealing with and disposal of these ships is what has stopped people before.
Hammer,
Nail.
Head.
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.
No he won’t be and these tankers keep getting incresdingly arrested by Western allies i hope we’re 100% alert to any excuse for an escalation by Russia!
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.
It’s already all over the news feeds how we “Supported” France in taking an oil tanker…over that last 25 years HMG more and more has reversed the idea “ speak softly and carry a big stick”.. the UK version is very much turning into “ trumpet loudly to hide your snapped twig” 🤣😂
I’d read we used HMS Dagger! And presumably, monitored the vessel from Gib as well.
Mate, HMG are an embarrassment.
No one calls them out on it in press conferences. Is there no journalist with balls or real interest in the defence of the nation??
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
Indeed they have but all for the wrong reasons!plenty of money heading to trumps Qatar bank account after his mates sell the oil.
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 🙂
Many of your examples are not very good…..
“Escorted away” “scared off” We are talking about russia’s tanker fleet. You know, the thing keeping russia’s war effort funded.
Outside of a few exceptions, europe has done very little to counter them. Of course I don’t count Ukraine’s efforts, I expect them to sink any russian ship they see, they are at war.
It’s a bit quiet from the Trumpy grump squad who gob off when the orange man does it, but I’m not seeing as much froth when our French neighbours do this? Personally if it’s Russian oil on any foreign flagged vessel it should be seized, and that includes the shit filling in and out of Venezuela if that is helping Putins war effort!
As an aside, my gosh isn’t it very quiet from our friendly pro Palestinian mob regarding thousands of moderate Muslims being killed on the streets in Iran! Oh shit sorry, my bad, no Jews to blame!
The leftists are more likely to support the mad mullahs, in fact the left, along with the communists and marxists played a significant role in the 1979 revolution in Iran against the Shah, so they have little to no interest in helping the Iranian people gain an independent and free Iran, they are worried that any new democratically elected government would have absolutely no interest in helping the palestinians.
Very much this. I LOVE the sheer hypocrisy.
And western “Imperialists” to blame either.
Not a peep or protest.
Plenty of demos where Iranian patriots in London have been joined by British flag waving “Reform / Far Right, Brexit loving, knuckle dragging, ( take your pick of this weeks insult ) types taking part. Of course the coverage of all that on the BBC is totally deafening! I know someone who has been to those demos and my wife and I hope to attend some. Always found the Persians a very handsome race.
Completely off topic. In today’s Janes news showing Brazil acquiring CAMM-ER from MBDA Italy. Seems like the next step up from the UK’s CAMM SkySabre. Looks like the radar Kratos is same as with SAMP/T Aster. Surely something the UK could adopt or upgrade too if CAMM-MR is still a way off?
*sorry, i’m wrimg here, its the Kronos radar system.
Yes, saw that. Brazil look to be constructing a GBAD system based on CAMM-ER and Kronos. Longer range system than the Sky Sabre Giraffe radar I think.
so much for starmer potificating about a ‘rules based’ international order, this is nothing short of piracy, and straight after france and the UK blubbed about trumps intentions over greenland
such hypocrites
Nope, they’re just policing sanctions. Arguably a little late.
Maybe you’re the one ‘potificating’.
You mean policing the rules they would like, rather than international law, and you do have to admire the gall of macron, only a few days ago he was threatening a bazooka because of trump’s economic coercion, but hey, so long as the dozys swallow their hypocrisy why should he care !
Do you understand now ?