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France said on Tuesday that it had released an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s sanctioned “shadow fleet” after its owner paid a fine worth millions of euros.
The vessel — named the Grinch — was seized by French forces in the Mediterranean Sea on 22 January on suspicion of shipping oil in violation of sanctions against Russia.
It had set sail from Murmansk in northern Russia and was flying under a false Comoros flag, according to French authorities, which diverted the ship to the port city of Marseille.
On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Grinch was leaving French waters “after paying several million euros and three weeks of costly immobilisation”.
“Bypassing European sanctions comes at a price,” he wrote on X. “Russia will no longer be able to fund its war with impunity via a ghost fleet off our coasts.”
The company that owns the Grinch was ordered to pay a penalty for failing to justify its flag, French prosecutors and maritime authorities said in a statement.
The ship’s captain — a 58-year-old Indian national — was handed to judicial authorities last month after the Grinch was seized and diverted to Marseille, prosecutors said. He is due to go on trial this month over the crew’s alleged refusal to cooperate.
Russia is believed to be using a shadow fleet of more than 400 ships to evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Several Western nations have vowed to crack down on the fleet.
The fleet comprises ageing vessels and tankers owned by non-transparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries, and sailing under flags from such countries.
Ukraine’s allies have increasingly sanctioned individual shadow tankers to deter customers from taking their oil, raising the total to 640 among the US, UK and EU.
In recent months, US forces have seized or attempted to capture at least seven vessels linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil, including one which change its flag to a Russian one mid-operation.
Additional sources • AP