France stops Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Indian Ocean
The French navy has intercepted a sanctioned tanker south of Réunion. Macron says France will fight the ghost fleet 'wherever it may be'.
Symbolic image · Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leonard Adams / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
The French navy has intercepted a tanker believed to belong to Russia's shadow fleet in the Indian Ocean. The DF Peak, formerly named Kaliningrad, was stopped on Monday about 450 nautical miles (833 kilometres) south of the French overseas territory of Réunion, President Emmanuel Macron said on X. The vessel was allegedly carrying sanctioned Russian fuel and, according to Ukraine's military intelligence portal, was falsely sailing under the flag of Benin.
"France is determined to combat the ghost fleet, wherever it may be in the world," Macron wrote. Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said the ship was under navy escort: "International law is not optional."
The tanker is under sanctions from the US, the EU, Switzerland, Canada and Japan. Russia uses the so-called shadow fleet, often old tankers sailing under false or foreign flags, to get around Western sanctions on its oil exports. There was no immediate response from Moscow.