France says intercepted tanker used a false flag linked to Russia’s shadow fleet
France’s navy intercepted an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, working with intelligence provided by the United Kingdom, according to officials. The operation targeted what French officials described as a sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet” used to evade restrictions linked to Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
French maritime authorities for the Mediterranean said the ship, the Grinch, is suspected of operating with a false flag. The French navy was escorting the ship to anchorage for further checks, the statement said, adding that the tanker departed from Murmansk in northwestern Russia.
President Emmanuel Macron said France was determined to uphold international law and ensure effective enforcement of sanctions. In a post accompanying photos of the operation, Macron also said the activities of the “shadow fleet” contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine.
French military officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the French mission was conducted together with the U.K. They said the U.K. gathered and shared intelligence that enabled the ship to be intercepted. The officials said the Grinch was operating under a false flag from the Comoros islands, off east Africa, and that its crew was Indian.
The AP report said the interception took place in the western Mediterranean, off the southern Spanish coastal town of Almeria. The French officials’ account described the shadow fleet as a compilation of aging vessels and tankers owned by nontransparent entities with addresses in countries that do not impose the sanctions targeted by the crackdown.
France and other countries have vowed to crack down on the sanction-busting shadow fleet of oil tankers, with experts estimating the fleet numbers over 400 ships. The reporting said countries are also trying to secure deals with “flag-carrying” nations to make it easier to board vessels at sea.
The cluster report also referenced Russia’s broader reliance on oil revenue, saying oil shipments help Moscow finance its war effort without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse. It described Russia’s shadow fleet as aging ships sailing under flags from non-sanctioning countries, while ownership and addresses remain nontransparent.
It also cited a previous interception by French naval forces last September, saying French forces boarded another oil tanker off the French Atlantic coast that Macron linked to the shadow fleet. That tanker, known as “Pushpa” or “Boracay” with multiple name changes, reportedly traveled from Russia’s oil terminal in Primorsk near Saint Petersburg and sailed under the flag of Benin.
Vladimir Putin denounced that September interception as an act of piracy, the AP report said, and alleged Macron initiated the move to deflect attention from French domestic problems. The AP report added that the captain of the Grinch tanker will go on trial in February over the crew’s alleged refusal to cooperate.