The French navy has boarded a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean on Thursday. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on the social media X. He added that several of France's allies participated in the operation.
- This morning, the French navy boarded an oil tanker from Russia, which is subject to international sanctions and suspected of sailing under a false flag. The operation was carried out on the high seas in the Mediterranean with the support of several of our allies, Macron wrote.
He added that the French authorities have launched an investigation into the ship, which is suspected of being part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. The shadow fleet consists of older tankers and cargo ships, which the UN Maritime Organization describes as ships with inadequate insurance contracts that circumvent sanctions and avoid controls.
Zelenskyj criticized the lack of action
The announcement comes at the same time that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyj, criticized on Thursday afternoon that Russian tankers are sailing in European waters without being stopped.
He did this during a speech at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. Here he pointed out that the US has detained a number of ships suspected of being part of the Russian shadow fleet.
- Why can President Trump stop tankers from the shadow fleet and withhold oil when Europe cannot, Zelenskyj asked.
Subsequently - after Macron's post on X - Zelenskyj praised France for its efforts in the Mediterranean.
- This is exactly the determination that is needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia's war. Russian tankers operating near the coasts of Europe must be stopped, Zelenskyj writes on X.
In fact, several ships suspected of being part of Russia's shadow fleet have been stopped in Europe in recent years. They have been stopped and searched by the Swedish and Finnish authorities, among others.
/ritzau/
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