French Authorities Detain Master of Seized Shadow Fleet Tanker
French prosecutors have ordered the detention of the captain of the shadow fleet tanker Grinch, which was boarded and captured by French commandos last week.
Grinch departed Murmansk earlier this month with a cargo of Russian oil, declaring her flag state as the Comoros Islands. Her Equasis record suggests that this is false. The vessel’s Indian master has been detained in connection with the investigation, which centers on “the validity of the flag used by the tanker.”
International Law Permits Boarding and Inspection
International law permits boarding and inspection of stateless vessels, and last week, French authorities (with British tracking and monitoring assistance) took the opportunity to conduct a flag verification boarding of the vessel. The boarding “confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag,” the authorities said. On taking control, French officials diverted Grinch to an anchorage at Marseilles, directly adjacent to the Lavera oil terminal, where she remains under guard.
EU-UK Plan to Interdict Shadow Fleet Tankers
The action is the first instance of a nascent EU-UK plan to interdict the anonymously-owned, questionably-insured, generally aging tankers that carry most of Russia’s oil to market. Cutting Russian energy revenue is a key lever for reducing Moscow’s ability to pursue its war in Ukraine, and European law-enforcement interdictions offer a nonviolent method – a peaceful alternative to Ukraine’s kinetic strikes on Russian oil terminals and Russia-serving tanker tonnage.
“This is exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia’s war. Russian tankers operating near European shores must be stopped,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a statement last week.
Grinch‘s History Revealed
According to TankerTrackers.com, Grinch is heavily sanctioned and has likely been engaged in the run from Russia to Syria in the past year. Russia’s government continues to supply the new administration of Syria with oil, thereby retaining a military basing arrangement in the region, albeit much reduced from the footprint Russian forces enjoyed under former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. All of the tankers used for this trade lane are sanctioned, the consultancy reports.
Further Intercepts Possible
There will be many further candidates to choose from if French authorities wish to conduct more intercepts. According to maritime security consultancy Windward, nearly 300 shadow fleet tankers are currently navigating the seas with false flag registration, forgoing any pretense of regulatory compliance.
The risks posed by the fly-by-night shadow fleet are potentially serious. Fully-laden tankers pose a significant pollution hazard in the event of a casualty, and aging vessels of unknown maintenance status are considered at higher risk of an incident. In the latest instance of a potential casualty connected to the shadow fleet, Spanish authorities responded to a shadow-fleet tanker in the Strait of Gibraltar that appeared to have gone adrift over the weekend. The MR tanker Chariot Tide – believed to be falsely-flagged and improperly declaring her registry as Mozambique – broadcast “not under command” and drifted slowly eastwards through the strait, prompting the dispatch of multiple salvage tugs to intercept.
Original Article: Seized Shadow Fleet Tanker’s Master Detained by French Authorities — The Maritime Executive