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French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that the French navy had intercepted and boarded an oil tanker suspected of being involved in illegal fuel-trafficking activities.
The operation took place 450 nautical miles south of the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, according to Macron.
“Our French Navy boarded the oil tanker DF Peak, which is suspected of sailing under a false flag and of being involved in illicit fuel-trafficking activities,” he wrote in a post on social media, whilst also sharing video footage appearing to show troops rappelling down onto the vessel.
He added that France remained “determined to combat the ‘shadow fleet’ wherever it may be in the world.”
Catherine Vautrin, France’s minister for the armed forces, congratulated those who took part in the operation and said the French military was escorting the DF Peak for further checks, under the authority of the prefect of Réunion.
Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) says the vessel is involved in the transportation of Russian crude oil and that it is associated with the Sovcomflot shipping firm.
The ship was built in 2006 and has sailed under multiple flags, per the GUR.
In June, French forces also intercepted the Russian shadow fleet tanker “Deliver” as it was sailing off the coast of Sicily “in violation of maritime law,” Macron announced at the time.
Russia’s shadow fleet enables the country to evade Western sanctions on its energy sector, which prevent it from chartering or insuring oil tankers unless it complies with certain restrictions.
The shadow fleet bypasses these restrictions by making use of complex ownership structures, flags of convenience, and other tactics designed to conceal the origin of its cargo.
A number of other European countries have reported intercepting Russian shadow fleet vessels in recent months.