French soldiers have successfully boarded an oil tanker, believed to be operating within Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ – a clandestine network of vessels employed to bypass international sanctions imposed due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This action occurred after a period of significant disruption caused by unidentified drones, which led to temporary airport closures in Denmark.
The tanker, identified as the Boracay, departed from Russia last month and was situated off the coast of Denmark when the drone incidents took place. It had been anchored near the French coast for several days prior to the boarding.
During an EU summit in Copenhagen, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the vessel’s crew had committed “serious offences,” though he refrained from directly linking the ship’s activities to the drone incidents. Meanwhile, the Kremlin, through spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has stated it has no information regarding the vessel.
According to reports from the news agency AFP, citing a source, French military personnel executed the boarding operation on Saturday. Prosecutors in Brest have initiated an investigation into two specific charges: the crew’s refusal to halt the vessel and their failure to provide valid nationality documentation for the ship’s flag.
Many Western nations have implemented sanctions targeting Russian energy exports, including import restrictions and oil price caps, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In response, Russia is reported to have amassed a ‘shadow fleet’ of hundreds of tankers, often registered in other countries, to obscure ownership and facilitate its oil trade.
President Macron has estimated that Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ comprises between 600 and 1,000 ships.
The Boracay, previously known as Pushpa and Kiwala, flies a Benin flag but is listed under existing UK and EU sanctions against Russia. It had previously been detained by Estonian authorities earlier this year for operating without a valid flag.
The vessel had departed from the Russian port of Primorsk on September 20th, navigating the Baltic Sea and passing Denmark before entering the North Sea. It was en route to Vadinar, India, with an expected arrival date of October 20th. However, after rounding the Brittany coast, it altered its course eastward towards France, reportedly being tracked by a French warship.
The boarding operation occurred amid heightened security concerns in Europe following recent drone incursions into EU airspace. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized the need for a robust European response to such threats, linking the drone incidents to a pattern of ‘hybrid attacks’. While Danish authorities have found no direct evidence of Russian involvement, they are considering the broader context of similar incidents.
The Boracay, also known as Pushpa and Kiwala, is a Benin-flagged vessel but has been listed under UK and EU sanctions against Russia.
It was detained by Estonian authorities earlier this year for sailing without a valid country flag.
It had set off from the Russian port of Primorsk outside Saint Petersburg on 20 September and sailed through the Baltic Sea and past Denmark, before entering the North Sea and carrying on through the English Channel.
It had been scheduled to arrive in Vadinar in north-western India on 20 October, according to data from the Marine Traffic tracking website. However it was followed by a French warship after it rounded the Brittany coast and then altered course and headed east towards the French coast.
EU leaders have been meeting in Copenhagen under pressure to boost European defence after a series of Russian incursions into EU airspace, and days after the drones targeted Danish airports.
Copenhagen airport, followed by several Danish airports and military sites on the Jutland peninsula, faced drone disruption last week.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters that "from a European perspective there is only one country… willing to threaten us and that is Russia, and therefore we need a very strong answer back".
Danish authorities have not found any evidence that Russia was behind last week’s drone disruption, but Frederiksen linked it explicitly to other so-called hybrid attacks such as Russian drones over Poland.
It was part of a pattern that had to be viewed from a European perspective, she told reporters on Wednesday.
The incursions have become most acute for countries on the EU’s eastern flank, such as Poland and Estonia.
A number of member states have already backed plans for a multi-layered “drone wall” to quickly detect, then track and destroy Russian drones.