French Navy Seizes Russian “Shadow-Fleet” Vessel Suspected of Launching Mystery Drones Into NATO Airspace
The arrests of two crew members from the Boracay, a vessel long suspected of being part of Russia’s shadow fleet, represent a significant development in the ongoing mystery surrounding recent drone incursions into NATO airspace.
This is one of the strongest indications yet that Russia may be orchestrating these aerial disruptions, underscoring the far-reaching logistical networks behind them. The arrests come on the heels of a sweeping wave of mystery drone incursions targeting sensitive sites across NATO countries over the past week.
Shadow Fleet Suspicions Heighten
The French military first boarded the Boracay on September 27, ordering the tanker to anchor off Saint-Nazaire. French prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that two crew members—who identified themselves as the ship’s captain and first mate—were taken into custody for “failure to justify the nationality of the vessel” and “refusal to cooperate.”
Citing military and intelligence sources, several Danish media outlets reported that the French raid was ultimately prompted by suspicions that the Boracay had been used as a launch platform for the recent mystery drone incursions in NATO airspace.
Shipping Records Suggest Russian Connection
Shipping records indicate that the Boracay departed from Primorsk, Russia, on September 20, officially bound for India. Its route took it through the North Sea and past Danish and German waters, as the mystery drone incursions were first being reported, from September 22 to 25.
During that same period, maritime trackers also logged two other Russian commercial vessels—the Oslo Carrier 3 and Astrol-1—alongside the Russian Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin operating in waters off Denmark.
International Reactions
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at a summit of European Union leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, declined to definitively confirm a link between Boracay and the drone events in NATO airspace, calling the French seizure of the vessel an “intervention.”
“I think it’s a good thing that this work has been done and that we’ve been able to stop it,” Macron told reporters. “There were some very serious wrongdoings made by this crew, which is why there are legal proceedings in the case.”
Asked about the seizure of the Boracay and arrests of its crew, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declined to comment on the ongoing investigation but underscored the broader threat posed by Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”
“I can say in more general terms that we are facing a lot of problems with the shadow fleet. And that has been the case, especially in the Baltic Sea for quite a long time,” Frederiksen told reporters. “And we are working very closely together to battle this situation.”
Original Article: French Navy Seizes Russian “Shadow-Fleet” Vessel Suspected of Launching Mystery Drones Into NATO Airspace — Thedebrief