Macron says tanker off France is linked to Russia’s shadow oil fleet

French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Wednesday (October 1, 2025) that an oil tanker immobilised off the French Atlantic coast had dedicated “very critical wrongdoings” and linked it to Russia’s shadow fleet, which is avoiding Western sanctions over Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.

The tanker was crusing final week off the coast of Denmark and was cited by European naval consultants as probably being concerned in drone flights over the nation.

French naval forces forcibly boarded the ship a number of days in the past on the request of prosecutors who suspected wrongdoing, a navy official stated on Wednesday.

The prosecutor’s workplace within the western French metropolis of Brest stated a judicial investigation has been opened into the crew’s “refusal to cooperate” and “failure to justify the nationality of the vessel.”

The ship was ordered to remain in place pending additional investigation, the navy official stated. French naval forces boarded the ship once more on Wednesday to supply meals and gas to the crew aboard, in response to the official, who was not authorised to be publicly named discussing an ongoing investigation.

The ship left the Russian oil terminal in Primorsk close to Saint Petersburg on September 20, sailed off the coast of Denmark and has stayed off the coast of the French western port of Saint-Nazaire since Sunday, in response to the Marine Traffic monitoring web site.

Mr. Macron prompt it was stopped by French authorities’ “intervention,” saying: “I feel it is a good factor that this work has been executed and that we have been in a position to cease it.”

“There have been some very critical wrongdoings made by this crew, which is why there are authorized proceedings within the case,” Mr. Macron stated on the sidelines of a summit of European Union leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark. He did not elaborate.

The Russian Embassy in Paris did not reply to a request for remark.

Asked whether or not the ship was linked to drone incidents in Denmark and about experiences that two individuals aboard had been detained, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated she would not touch upon particular investigations.

But she added, “I can say in additional common phrases that we face a whole lot of issues with the shadow fleet. And that has been the case, particularly within the Baltic Sea for fairly a very long time. And we’re working very intently collectively to battle this example.”

Mr. Macron stated the incident highlights “the existence and the truth of a phenomenon that we have now been describing and denouncing for a very long time” that’s the “infamous shadow fleet” that represents tens of billions of euros for Russia’s funds and funds an estimated 40% of Russia’s conflict effort.

Mr. Macron stated between 600 and 1,000 ships are transporting Russian oil and fuel regardless of Western sanctions.

The tanker generally known as “Pushpa” or “Boracay,” whose identify has modified a number of instances, was crusing underneath the flag of Benin and seems on a listing of ships focused by EU sanctions towards Russia.

The shadow fleet is made up of growing older tankers purchased used, usually by nontransparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning international locations, and crusing underneath flags from non-sanctioning international locations. Their function is to assist Russia’s oil exporters elude the worth cap imposed by Ukraine’s allies.