Macron Announces Interception of Ship Suspected of Belonging to Russian 'Shadow Fleet'

President Emmanuel Macron announced that the French Navy intercepted yesterday (Monday) a ship "suspected of sailing under a false flag" and "involved" in "fuel transport" operations "south of the French island of Réunion" located in the Indian Ocean.

Macron said via "X": "This morning (Monday), the National Navy intercepted the oil tanker DF Peak more than 450 nautical miles south of Réunion Island," according to reports by "Agence France-Presse".

Macron displayed footage of the operation and affirmed that "France is determined to combat the shadow fleet," a term used to refer to ships used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions.

https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/2109705699462729827

The oil tanker DF Peak, which flies the flag of Benin, is listed on the European Union's list of sanctioned ships and has been suspected of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet since June 25, 2024, when it was named "Kaliningrad".

For its part, the French General Staff reported via "X" that "a document verification operation conducted by an inspection team after boarding the ship confirmed suspicions regarding the irregularity of the flag flown," clarifying that the ship was "rerouted under escort by units of the National Navy".

There are currently more than 700 ships listed on the European sanctions list. Ships suspected of being used by Russia to export hydrocarbons despite US, British, and European sanctions sometimes change their names or flags to circumvent monitoring operations.