French President Emmanuel Macron said that the French Navy had detained the Tagor oil tanker travelling from Russia and under sanctions on suspicion of belonging to the so-called Russian shadow fleet. Britain was also involved in the operation.
“This operation was conducted in the Atlantic Ocean, on the high seas, with the support of a number of partners, including the United Kingdom, and in strict compliance with the law of the sea. It is unacceptable that the vessels circumvented international sanctions, violated the law of the sea and financed the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years,” Macron wrote on social network X.
He said these vessels, which ignore “even the most basic rules of maritime navigation, are a threat to the environment and the safety of all.”
According to the MarineTraffic service, the Tagor left Russia (it most likely took on cargo from a floating oil storage facility near Murmansk) and was on its way to a port in western Cameroon.
The vessel flies the flag of Cameroon and is under sanctions by the US, EU, UK and Switzerland for transporting Russian oil and oil products. This is not the first tanker from the Russian “shadow fleet” to be detained by France.
Since last autumn, the French military together with allies detained tankers Grinch, Boracay and Deyna. All of them were subsequently released. In particular, the Grinch tanker was released after being fined “several million euros” for the crew’s failure to justify the use of the flag, according to French authorities.