The shadow fleet—aging tankers linked to Russia and China that cut subsea cables and evade sanctions—threaten global data flows and commerce and exploit legal gaps.

French military personnel have intercepted the sanctioned oil tanker Deliver in the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily. The vessel is considered part of Russia's shadow fleet.

"We will not allow the shadow fleet to evade sanctions and fund Russia's war effort. Europe is determined," French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X on June 25.