The French navy announced on Friday that it had intercepted a Mozambique-flagged oil tanker in the western Mediterranean after sailing from Murmansk, Russia, on suspicion of belonging to Russia's "stealth fleet".
The French navy said in a statement today: "The French navy, in cooperation with allies, including the United Kingdom, moved to pursue and intercept the ship "Dina" south of the Balearic Islands as it was heading to the port of Port Said in Egypt, adding that the inspection of the tanker to verify the authenticity of the flag it raises confirmed the army's suspicions, which prompted it to report the incident to the Public Prosecution in Marseille, and the ship will be escorted to one of the ports to conduct further verifications.
This is the third tanker intercepted by France on suspicion of belonging to Russia's so-called "stealth fleet", which allows Moscow to circumvent the sanctions imposed on it due to the war in Ukraine, as the first oil tanker from this fleet was confiscated last September off the coast of Protani, while the second tanker was intercepted last January in the Mediterranean Sea.
Commenting on the tanker's objection, French President Emmanuel Macron said via the X platform that "the war in Iran will not prevent France's support for Ukraine," considering that "these ships, which avoid Western sanctions and violate maritime rights, are exploiting the war. It seeks benefits and finances Russia's war effort. We will not let them do that."
The European Union is imposing sanctions on some 598 ships suspected of belonging to the stealth fleet.