The French Navy has boarded another oil tanker from Russia as Paris steps up its campaign against Moscow’s so-called "shadow fleet" of vessels suspected of evading international sanctions.
Issued on: 01/06/2026 - 09:14Modified: 01/06/2026 - 09:14
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President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that the operation had taken place on Sunday on the high seas in the Atlantic “with the support of several partners, including the United Kingdom”. According to France’s Atlantic Maritime Prefecture, the interception was carried out more than 400 nautical miles – around 740 kilometres – west of the tip of Brittany. The vessel, identified as the Tagor, was travelling from Murmansk in northern Russia. After an inspection team boarded the tanker, an examination of its papers “confirmed suspicions regarding the irregularity of the flag flown”, the authorities said. A report has now been sent to the public prosecutor in Brest, which has jurisdiction under France’s maritime court system. The vessel is currently being escorted by French Navy assets to an anchorage point for further checks, the Maritime Prefecture added in a statement. How Russia’s shadow fleet keeps slipping through Europe’s net Macron condemns sanctions evasion Macron said the operation reflected France’s firm determination to counter ships accused of helping Russia sidestep sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine. “It is unacceptable that ships should circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years,” the French president wrote on X, in a post accompanied by footage of the boarding. He also warned that such vessels pose risks beyond sanctions evasion.
