France says it has seized an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet”.French President Emmanuel Macron said the tanker, named the Grinch, was “subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag”.The French navy, with the assistance of allies including the UK, boarded the vessel on Thursday morning between Spain and Morocco. French maritime authorities said that a search of the vessel had “confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag”.Russia’s embassy in Paris said it had not been informed of the seizure.Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet is a clandestine network of tankers used to evade Western sanctions on Russian oil exports by shipping the oil on aged tankers with obscure ownership or insurance.The Grinch was travelling from the Arctic port of Murmansk in northern Russia when it was intercepted, French authorities said. The vessel had been flying a Comoros flag, according to ship tracking websites marinetraffic and vesselfinder.Announcing the seizure on X, Macron said: “We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions.”The activities of the “shadow fleet” contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said, adding that the vessel had been “diverted”.Defence Secretary John Healy said the UK navy had provided “tracking and monitoring” support, with HMS Dagger monitoring the tanker through the Straits of Gibraltar.He added: “Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels to choke off the funds that fuel Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”The UK has imposed sanctions on 544 Russian shadow fleet vessels. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the action, saying it was “exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia’s war”.”Vessels must be apprehended. And wouldn’t it be fair to confiscate and sell the oil carried by these tankers?” he said on X.Spea …
