Macron: France detains sanctioned tanker from Russia

The French navy has detained in the Atlantic a tanker sailing from Russia that was subject to international sanctions, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X. The navy boarded the vessel, named Tagor, in international waters on Sunday in a joint operation supported by several partners, including the UK. According to AFP, this is the fourth tanker France has stopped in this way.

"It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate maritime law and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years," Macron said in a post in which he also published several images of the tanker's detention.

"These vessels, which fail to comply with the most basic rules of maritime navigation, also pose a threat to the environment and to everyone's safety," the president added.

According to the Atlantic Ocean maritime prefecture, the navy detained an oil tanker sailing from Russia's Murmansk more than 740 kilometres west of the Breton coast. "After an inspection team boarded, a document check confirmed suspicions of improperly flying a flag," the prefecture said. The navy is now escorting the ship to an anchorage for further verification, it added, and the case has been reported to the public prosecutor in Brest. The authority did not specify the vessel's name.

AFP recalls that France detained the Boracay vessel off the coast of Brittany in September last year. Since the start of this year, the French navy has detained two vessels in the Mediterranean. All three vessels were able to leave after paying fines.

On 8 April, France announced that it wanted to double fines and penalties for ships that do not sail under their own flag. Ships in the shadow fleet routinely change flags to avoid tracking and the attention of authorities. France wants to punish these practices, as well as failing to comply with authorities' orders to stop sailing, with up to two years in prison and a fine of 300.000 euros (CZK 7.3 million). The penalties would apply to the owner, operator or another person with legal responsibility for the vessel. Lawmakers are expected to approve the bill by the summer, AFP reported earlier.

London has also pledged, according to Reuters, to take action against ships linked to sanctions against Russia. In March, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he had authorised the military to conduct inspections aboard vessels belonging to the shadow fleet. However, shipping data show that dozens of sanctioned vessels linked to Moscow continue to pass through British waters, Reuters said.