Emmanuel Macron says the oil tanker was boarded and searched ‘subject to international sanctions’
The French navy has intercepted a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean suspected to be part of the “shadow fleet” that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions.
“This morning, the French Navy boarded and searched an oil tanker from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag,” President Emmanuel Macron said on X.
“The operation was carried out on the high seas in the Mediterranean, with the support of several of our allies,” he added, saying the vessel had been “diverted”.
The tanker, Grinch, is the latest in a series of Russian-linked ships to be intercepted by the US and European powers in recent months. It was located between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco in the western Mediterranean and then diverted, the French maritime police said in a separate statement.
