French soldiers have successfully boarded an oil tanker believed to be operating within Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’—a fleet of vessels used to circumvent sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. The tanker, named Boracay, had departed Russia the previous month and was located off the coast of Denmark when a series of unidentified drone activities led to the temporary closure of several airports. The ship has since been anchored near the French coast.
During an EU summit in Copenhagen, President Emmanuel Macron stated that the crew had committed “serious offences,” although he did not directly connect the vessel to the drone incidents. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that Russia had no information regarding the tanker.
Reports from AFP news agency, citing a source, confirmed that French military personnel boarded the ship on Saturday. President Macron remained non-committal when questioned whether the tanker might have been involved in the drone flights that caused significant disruption in Denmark the previous week. Prosecutors in Brest have initiated an investigation into two charges: refusing to halt the vessel and failing to provide valid flag nationality documentation.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many Western nations implemented sanctions on Russian energy, including import restrictions and oil price caps. To circumvent these measures, Russia has reportedly assembled a ‘shadow fleet’ of hundreds of tankers to obscure ownership and manage its oil exports. Macron estimates this fleet comprises between 600 and 1,000 ships.