France seizes tanker linked to shadow fleet in Mediterranean

(Patria) - The French Navy yesterday seized an oil tanker in the western Mediterranean that President Emmanuel Macron said belonged to Russia's "shadow fleet," a network of ships that allows Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.

Local officials confirmed to Reuters yesterday that the navy boarded the ship named Deyna, under the flag of Mozambique, on suspicion of sailing under a false flag. The ship had departed from the Russian port of Murmansk.

The operation was carried out with the help of British allies, the French Mediterranean prefecture announced.

Russia, which has been subjected to increasing international sanctions for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has not immediately commented on the seizure of the tanker.

Moscow has previously called the seizure of its tankers or ships carrying its cargo an act of piracy.

We remain resolute.

This morning in the Mediterranean, the French Navy intercepted and boarded another vessel from the shadow fleet, the Deyna.

The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated.… pic.twitter.com/SYCPKblacb

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 20, 2026

At the request of the prosecutor's office, the ship was escorted to anchorage for further inspection, the French military announced.

"These ships, which circumvent international sanctions and violate maritime law, are war profiteers. They seek to make profits and finance Russian war efforts," Macron wrote in a post on X.

This was the second such interception France has carried out in recent months.

In January, it stopped the tanker Grinch between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco on suspicion of being part of the Russian shadow fleet.

The French Navy assisted Belgium in a third similar operation in early March.