French Troops Board Oil Tanker Linked to Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’
Background
French soldiers have boarded an oil tanker believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, used to evade sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. The imo-9332810/”>imo-9332810/”>imo-9332810/”>Boracay, one vessel in a larger network of ships used to circumvent international sanctions against Russia, left Russia last month and was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones forced the temporary closure of several airports last week. It has been anchored off western France for a few days.
Investigation and Reactions
French President Emmanuel Macron said at an EU leaders’ summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday that the crew had committed “serious offences”, but did not elaborate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no knowledge of the vessel.
According to news agency AFP, French military personnel boarded the vessel on Saturday. Macron refused to be drawn on the question of whether the ship may have been used as a platform for the drone flights that caused such disruption in Denmark last week. Prosecutors in Brest have opened an investigation on two counts: refusing an order to stop and failing to justify the nationality of the ship’s flag.
The Shadow Fleet
The imo-9332810/”>imo-9332810/”>imo-9332810/”>Boracay is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which has been built up to evade Western sanctions imposed on Russian energy by limiting imports and capping the price of its oil following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To evade these sanctions, Moscow has registered hundreds of tankers in other countries and uses them to export its petrol.
Macron said Russia’s shadow fleet contains between 600 and 1,000 ships. The imo-9332810/”>imo-9332810/”>imo-9332810/”>Boracay represents one vessel in this larger network, which has been used to export Russian oil despite international efforts to limit its ability to do so.
Despite the French military boarding the vessel, the investigation into the ship’s activities is ongoing.
Original Article: French troops board oil tanker linked to Russian ‘shadow fleet’ — BBC