The French Navy is escorting the detained tanker Tagor to an anchorage for inspection
The French Navy is escorting the oil tanker Tagor, which was detained in the Atlantic Ocean while transporting Russian oil in violation of international restrictions.
This was reported by Le Monde, citing official data from the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture.
The special operation took place 740 kilometers west of the coast of Brittany, after which the vessel was sent to an anchorage for detailed inspections.
The crew attempted to conceal the vessel’s route, which had departed from the port of Murmansk and was heading to the African port of Limbé.
French military personnel discovered the forged documents during a direct inspection of the vessel in the open ocean.
“The Tagor was sailing under a false Cameroonian flag and was headed for Limbé, a port city in the west of that African country. After the inspection team boarded the vessel, a review of the documents confirmed suspicions regarding the unauthorized use of the flag. The report was forwarded to the prosecutor in Brest, who has jurisdiction within the maritime court,” stated representatives of the prefecture.
The investigation revealed that the vessel regularly engaged in manipulating its geolocation and the flags of various countries. The last legal signal was recorded a week ago near Norway, where the tanker was flying the flag of Madagascar.
There are 23 crew members on board the vessel, and the captain is a citizen of the Russian Federation. The Russian diplomatic mission in Paris has already lodged a complaint that the French side did not notify them of the detention.
Details have emerged about the Russian tanker detained by France
The European Union is considering adding about 20 additional tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet to the upcoming 21st package of restrictive measures aimed at reducing Moscow’s oil revenues. The new sanctions are also planned to be extended to vessels transporting liquefied natural gas to prevent the Kremlin from creating a similar shadow fleet for LNG.
Ukraine has introduced a new package of sanctions against Russian commanders who directed missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, as well as against vessels providing military logistics for Russia.
