Macron says French Navy boarded Russia-linked sanctioned tanker

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said the French Navy boarded an oil tanker linked to Russia and subject to international sanctions in an operation carried out in the Atlantic Ocean with support from several partners, including the United Kingdom.

In a post on X on Sunday, Macron identified the vessel as the Tagor and said it had been sailing from Russia. He said the intervention was conducted on the high seas and in compliance with the law of the sea.

Macron said ships should not be allowed to evade international sanctions or help fund Russia’s war in Ukraine. He wrote that such activity was unacceptable at a time when, according to him, Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for more than four years.

Attributing further operational details to French authorities, the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic said in a separate statement on Monday that the French Navy had intervened on an oil tanker located more than 400 nautical miles, or 740 kilometres, west of the tip of Brittany. The statement said the vessel was coming from Murmansk, Russia.

The prefecture said the operation was intended to verify the nationality of a ship suspected of sailing under a false flag. It said the boarding team examined the vessel’s documents and confirmed irregularities relating to the flag it was using.

According to the same statement, the tanker was then diverted in line with international law and at the request of the public prosecutor. The prefecture did not identify the vessel by name, creating a difference with Macron’s post, which named the ship as the Tagor.

France and Britain have both pledged to take action against vessels associated with Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet when they move through their waters. In March, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had authorised the UK military to board ships belonging to that fleet.

Shipping data, however, shows that dozens of sanctioned vessels linked to Russia are still passing through UK waters.