French armed forces have boarded and seized control of the oil tanker Boracay, also known as Pushpa, off the port of Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast.
The vessel, stretching 244 metres, is widely reported to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to circumvent international sanctions.
According to French media, the ship is currently anchored while authorities investigate its suspected involvement in “serious offences” linked to French and European security. The action comes less than 24 hours after French officials announced a judicial investigation into the tanker.
The Boracay, which departed Primorsk in Russia on 20 September carrying an estimated 115,000 tons of oil, had transited the Baltic Sea and Danish waters before arriving off the Loire-Atlantique. Though currently sailing under the flag of Benin, the vessel has a history of changing registrations and names, previously linked to Gabon, the Marshall Islands and Mongolia.
Security officials suspect the tanker of ties to recent drone overflights in Denmark during late September, which have prompted wider concern across Europe. It has also been the subject of U.S. and EU sanctions, with accusations of being part of a fleet of hundreds of tankers used to evade restrictions and move Russian oil in defiance of international measures.
Built in 2007, Boracay has been linked with Russia’s network of between 600 and 1,000 vessels that make up the shadow fleet. The fleet is known for operating under opaque ownership structures, reflagging in permissive registries, and conducting ship-to-ship transfers in international waters to disguise cargo origin.
French authorities have yet to release an official statement on the scale of the investigation or possible charges, but military personnel remain on board the vessel.
Vive La France.
Bravo.
About time. Targeting their tanker fleet is an efficent way to reduce the money available to their war machine. They should target many more. I won’t hold my breath mind.
Or was it the tanker some drones were launched from?
At some point Mad Vlad has got to realise that the messing around stops and that his ‘little grey men’ strategy would backfire.
That’s the suspicion and why it’s been stopped. It was the area where the drones first appeared.
It does all open up the real concern of a new 21c version of Q ships, merchant ships designed to be packed with drones or even simply shipping containers that can be loaded onto merchant ships.. I don’t believe for a second Russia will follow the rules of law around only commissioned warships undertaking belligerent action.. so that brings up a whole can of worms for the west… in time of war does the west abandon the laws of war and start sinking Russian merchants or wait around to get attacked ? if Russian merchants undertake belligerent actions what do we do with the captain and crew.. they are not combanants and they will have tried to or committed mass murder therefore are criminals not prisoners of war and have no protection as such or rights ( the Germans in ww2 had a bit of a habit of shooting merchants captains that did not hold a commission and undertook belligerent actions ).
I don’t think that anyone would plan to do an operation spiders web from a cargo ship, the chances of your container being in the middle of a stack and just detonating would be too high.
I was think more organised than that to be honest Dern. The whole ship being suborned to the role of QShip.
I think this ship’s whole Bow opens up to deploy Submarines !
It’s Russian so the submarines will open up to release smaller submarines and so on, fiendish bstards.
the Liparus….
But you don’t love me James.
Ha, That’s the one !
There are plenty of smaller container ships that would fit the bill beautifully. Given that the Russian’s are, reportedly, already doing ship to ship transfers at sea it might be possible to transfer small to medium size drones as well. So a ship could leave port ‘clean’ and then turn up at the other end of its route with some nasty surprises on board.
You could play all sorts of tricks given a bit of daring and imagination, think SOE during WW2 or the raid on German ships in Goa by the Calcutta Light Horse..! 🙂 All very imaginative. Now throw drones into the tool box and I bet we could come up with really wacky ideas. If we could do it, I bet the Russians and Chinese could as well, and the Russians seem to have a head start in the modern context.
One area where I think these Q-ships might excel is in attacking merchant ships on the high seas, especially as we do not seem to be even vaguely thinking about convoys. We can’t, because we simply do not have the escorts for close convoy work but that will raise it’s ugly head in a war with the CRINK Axis.
We need a much bigger navy. Drones ships will help, but we need many more crewed ships as well. What we really need is leadership to motivate the country, but we ain’t got a modern day Churchill so I fear we are in real trouble…
Cheers CR
I think it would be considered as an act of war. But look at the truckers in Russia… Russia could not kill them, they were Russians. Though their truck carried what destroyed Russian strategic bombers. What is it that we want to protect so much from a Russian attack from the sea… This is a strong reminder of the nature of the confrontation to come. No trade will be easy.
The problem with having a shadow fleet is you can’t protests when someone starts grabbing it.
Take note Baltic countries
Everyone one of these vessels should be stopped to check paperwork and held when violations are found. The Russians understand and frequently use such checks themselves to expert pressure on others.
Let’s be realistic. We still buy Russian LNG, uranium and Nitrate. It is not so realistic to stop this fleet without harming our selves. Contengency plans are being built, but in the case of Uranium for eastern european countries, it will take more time. And with no Russian LNG, it will be worst for Germany.
Actually, Germany is now importing gas from the U.S.A instead, a new market for franked gas. It still comes out of the ground!
“And with no Russian LNG, it will be worst for Germany.”
Not really! Germany is now importing it’s LNG from the USA. Europe could become a new market for franked gas. It just.comes from under ground as well! Plenty of other supplies available, even reprocessing nuclear fuel.
I’ve been hoping for a while Ukraine has been building up its own shadow fleet to unleash hundreds of drones on Kalinigrad
Policing trade routes and enforcing sanctions globally….sounds like a job for a fleet of Type 31 frigates.
another nato provocation
but it’s the rest of us who will do the dying, i just wish the warmongers would join up, ukraine are desperate for foriegn soldiers
Boring, Boring!😴
Bore-off back to Putler-land!
have you joined up yet ?
nato provocation? are you having a laugh? did Nato invade Ukraine?
it is Russia that has been sending drones into NATO nations, not to mention disrupting air traffic, hybrid attacks targeting arms industry (and their CEOs), chemical assassinations in UK, and on and on and on … and of course little trolls like yourself in a St Petersberg basement!
are france in nato ?
do you understand now ?
What’s it to do with Russia?the ship is registered in Benin! (Or is it🤔)
do you not understand the headline ?
I see you don’t get sarcasm then👍
As is Putins murderous army. Regularly scamming foriegn nationals into front line action.
for example ?
do you understand now ?
All Evidence of drones over board by now ?
Given the choke-points these vessels must transit, it should by quite rudimentary to, if sufficient will was there, almost fully disrupt this illegal movement of oil sustaining the russians war effort.
.
.
Arresting the whole crew throwing them in some decrept jail for lengthy periods, all broadcast in 4k resolution to the ether should also help the ‘crews’ of other vessels think twice about taking the next passage – I was going to say just sink ’em (ideally empty for minimised environmental impact), but that may upset some (but I would add most likely result in a quicker result!).
.
.
More should be done to dismantle the russian ‘war’ economy and encourage change.
…and they just released it due to maritime laws, an example where scum-bags win if the civilised world adheres to rule of law and the the scum-bags do not.
.
.
I take back my reservation above – confistate the cargo and scrap them mixed with just sinking them outright – bonus medals to those service people who manage to block russian port access channels in the process 🙃