French President Emmanuel Macron announced on social media, that the French Navy intercepted a suspected Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker off the coast of Sicily on Tuesday, marking a major escalation in European efforts to disrupt Moscow’s maritime sanctions evasion.
The specialized maritime interception, conducted via helicopter-borne Marines, targeted the Cameroon-flagged tanker Deliver, which was sailing from Primorsk, Russia, in apparent violation of the law of the sea. French naval forces are currently escorting the vessel to an anchorage for comprehensive inspections. Macron emphasized that the operation, which took place just days after a similar interception by British forces in the English Channel, reflects a unified European determination to block unflagging or “flag-hopping” vessels from illicitly funding Russia’s war effort.
The seizure marks the fifth Russian shadow fleet vessel intercepted by France this year, following the detentions of the Grinch, Deyna, and Tagor in previous months. Nearly 600 vessels are currently suspected of helping Moscow bypass Western price caps on crude oil exports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the enforcement action, while Moscow has previously condemned European maritime interventions in international shipping lanes as illegal and tantamount to piracy.
