France has detained a suspected Russian oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean as part of ongoing efforts to crack down on Moscow’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet.”
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Monday that the tanker, identified as the Tagor, was intercepted on Sunday morning in international waters. The operation was carried out with support from Britain and other international partners.
According to French authorities, the vessel had departed from Murmansk in northwestern Russia and was heading toward Limbe, a coastal city in Cameroon.
Officials said the tanker was falsely sailing under a Cameroonian flag. This raised concerns about the vessel’s identity and compliance with international maritime regulations.
Macron strongly criticized ships that attempt to evade sanctions imposed on Russia.
“It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years,” he said.
The French leader also warned that vessels operating outside standard maritime rules pose serious environmental and safety risks.
Alongside his statement, Macron shared a video showing commandos descending from a helicopter onto a ship during the interception operation.
The Atlantic maritime prefecture said the tanker was stopped more than 400 nautical miles west of Brittany.
Authorities inspected the vessel’s documents and found evidence that questioned the legitimacy of the flag it was displaying.
“The examination of the documents confirmed doubts about the irregularity of the flag being flown,” the maritime prefecture stated.
The vessel, which carried 23 crew members, is now being escorted by the French navy to an anchorage area for further inspections.
Guillaume Le Rasle, spokesperson for the Atlantic maritime prefecture, said the tanker was already under both European Union and United States sanctions.
“It is a vessel that was known and tracked,” he said.
Le Rasle added that authorities ordered the diversion of the ship on Sunday evening to verify the validity of its registration.
Officials also revealed that the tanker was almost empty when French forces boarded it.
Data from maritime tracking service MarineTraffic showed that the vessel was sailing under a Madagascan flag when it last transmitted an automatic identification system (AIS) signal near the Norwegian coast a week earlier.
Ships linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet often switch flags or use questionable registrations to avoid detection and continue transporting oil despite international sanctions.
France has intensified its monitoring of these vessels in recent months.
Since September, French authorities have boarded three other ships suspected of belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet. Those vessels were later released after their owners paid financial penalties.
One of the most notable cases involved the tanker Boracay. The vessel claimed to be registered in Benin when it was boarded by the French navy in September. Its Chinese captain was later tried in absentia, and a French court issued an arrest warrant and a one-year prison sentence in March.
French forces also detained the tanker Grinch in January and the Deyna in March after it arrived in Marseille from Murmansk under a Mozambican flag.
In April, France announced plans to double penalties for vessels that fail to display a valid flag or refuse to cooperate with inspections.
Western nations have sanctioned hundreds of ships believed to be helping Russia export oil despite restrictions imposed following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Nearly 600 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet are currently under European Union sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly condemned the detention of Russia-linked ships, describing such actions as “piracy.”
