France claimed on Thursday to have intercepted another Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker, just days after British Royal Marines stormed a ship in the Channel.
French president Emmanuel Macron said that his country’s navy had intercepted an oil tanker as it transited near the coast of Sicily, accusing Russia of using the ship to skirt Western sanctions.
“This new action against the shadow fleet, conducted days after a similar operation by Britain, shows Europeans’ determination,” Macron said, adding that the interception took place on Tuesday.
“We will not let the shadow fleet evade sanctions and finance the Russian war effort,” he said, sharing a video showing Marines descending from helicopters onto the Deliver.
France has intercepted at least five tankers it says are part of Russia’s shadow fleet, old vessels that Russia has relied on to ship oil and gas and to skirt Western sanctions.
Moscow has called such actions illegal.
