Two people have been arrested after French troops boarded an oil tanker suspected of belonging to the so-called shadow fleet involved in Russian oil trade.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about the vessel, called the Boracay, which is currently at anchor near the western city of Saint Nazaire.
Speaking of the ghost ship on Tuesday, the Brest prosecutor said that an investigation had been opened after the crew failed to provide proof of the vessel's nationality and failed to comply with orders, but gave no further details.
A source within the executive branch told AFP earlier that the French navy had boarded the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia's sanction-busting fleet of ageing oil tankers.
Two senior crew members - who presented themselves as the ship's captain and his first mate - were arrested and taken into custody.
