The French navy intercepted a Russian vessel suspected of operating as a shadow vessel
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The French navy has seized a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of operating as part of Moscow’s shadow fleet, a network of false-flag vessels used to export oil and evade Western sanctions, according to reports.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that French troops had boarded and searched the ship, which is subject to international sanctions.
The ship was reportedly sailing from Murmansk, northern Russia, under the Comoros flag.
Writing in X, Macron said that the operation is taking place in the high seas of the Mediterranean with the support of several allied countries.
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The French president added that the ship had been diverted for inspection.
The vessel, identified as the Grinch, was caught between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco in the western Mediterranean, French maritime police said.
The Associated Press reported this outage.
France and the UK are meeting and sharing intelligence on the ship, according to French military officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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An international operation has stopped a Russian frigate called the Grinch in the Mediterranean. (Etat Major des Armees / AP)
The incident is the latest in a growing number of Russia-linked vessels that have been stopped by US and European authorities in recent months as the West steps up efforts to disrupt Russian oil exports.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, in early January US forces seized another tanker that was allowed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The US European Command (EUCOM) announced the seizure of the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker in the North Atlantic Sea.
Meanwhile, France’s Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture said the team aboard The Grinch on Thursday had inspected the ship and determined that the documents raised doubts about the ship’s flag operation.
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A Russian oil tanker has sailed between Spain and Morocco. (Etat Major des Armees)
The tanker is being escorted by the French navy to dock for further verification.
The European Union has imposed 19 rounds of sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Despite those measures, Russia continued to export millions of barrels of oil mainly to China and India and often at discounted prices.
What has come to be known as the “shadow fleet” consists of hundreds of old and poorly managed tankers that change names, properties and flags to avoid detection and punishment.
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embrace after signing an agreement on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at Villacoublay airport near Paris. (Christophe Ena/AP Photo, Pool)
Maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence estimates the world’s shadow fleet at around 1,400 tankers, many of which are subject to US, British or European sanctions, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized European countries for not doing more to stop Russian oil shipments using authorized vessels that he says are helping to fund Ukraine’s war.
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“Why [U.S. President Donald Trump] stop the ‘shadow ships’ tankers and take their oil, while Europe can’t?” Zelensky said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.
“Russian oil is transported along the coast of Europe. This oil is funding the war against Ukraine. This oil is helping to destabilize Europe,” Zelenskyy added.
