French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday, June 1, that France, in coordination with its allies, led by the United Kingdom, intercepted and detained the Russian oil tanker "Tagor" in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend, which is one of the carriers of the Russian shadow fleet, which Europe and the United States are imposing strict sanctions on.
In a post on the "X" platform, Macron stressed that circumventing sanctions and funding Russia's war against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than four years, is unacceptable, stressing that these ships not only constitute a violation of maritime law, but also a direct threat to the environment and the safety of navigation due to their lack of safety and insurance conditions.
Ship tracking websites showed that the detained tanker, registered in Madagascar, is part of the Russian shadow fleet, and had sailed days earlier from the Russian port of "Omba" loaded with crude oil, and is already on the sanctions lists issued by the European Union, Britain, and the United States of America, making it a direct target of Western pursuits.
Outrage in Moscow: 'International Piracy'
The Kremlin described the French action as an illegal act that violates laws governing free navigation, with Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirming Moscow's complete rejection of Western claims.
Peskov considered the interception of the ship a dangerous step that comes close to the limit of "international piracy", and said that Russia will take additional measures to protect its commercial ships on the high seas taking advantage of this negative experience.
Western Tyranny Narrows Shadow Ships
The operation was part of a broader Western strategy, with French forces intercepting three other ships belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet" since last November and only allowing them to leave after paying heavy fines.
While Washington has eased some of its sanctions on Russian oil at sea to avoid market turmoil due to Middle East conflicts, Europe has refused to follow suit, and Paris and Brussels have moved toward a tougher approach against some 600 vessels suspected of being involved in oil smuggling activities for Moscow.
What is the Russian Shadow Fleet?
The term "shadow fleet" is given to oil tankers owned and used by Russian shipping companies with the aim of delivering Russian oil to countries that do not impose sanctions or embargoes on Russian oil, such as China or India.
Marine AI company Windward estimated in late 2023 that Russia's shadow fleet includes between 1,400 and 1,800 tankers, equivalent to one-fifth of the global oil trade, according to CNN.
According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Treasury Department, tankers belonging to the "shadow fleet" are changing the flags they carry and turning off transmitters to avoid tracking, as well as sending deceptive signals and exchanging oil at sea.
Some of these tankers change the name of the vessel, use fictitious company names or falsify documents to conceal the tanker's ownership, often sailing without real insurance, with the aim of staying out of the reach of maritime authorities.