France Releases Suspected Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker After Multimillion-Euro Penalty

French authorities have released the oil tanker Grinch after the vessel’s owner paid a financial penalty amounting to several million euros.

The tanker had been intercepted last month in the Mediterranean Sea on suspicion of being part of Russia’s sanctioned “shadow fleet” used to transport oil in breach of international sanctions.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated on Tuesday that the vessel was leaving French waters following three weeks of immobilisation at Fos-sur-Mer and the payment of a substantial fine.

He said that efforts to bypass European sanctions would carry financial consequences and said France would continue to act against such activities.

The tanker was diverted by the French military and anchored at Fos-sur-Mer as part of an investigation into a failure to fly a valid flag.

French authorities said the vessel had sailed from Murmansk in northern Russia in early January under a Comoros flag.

The crew, reported to be of Indian nationality, remained on board during the detention.

In a joint statement, the Marseille prosecutor’s office and regional maritime authorities confirmed that, under a guilty plea procedure, the company owning the vessel was sentenced by the Marseille judicial court to a financial penalty of confiscation. The exact amount of the fine was not disclosed.

France suspects the vessel of being linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, a network of tankers believed to be used to circumvent Western sanctions imposed after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to monitoring group TankerTrackers.com, the fleet is estimated to comprise 1,468 vessels, significantly larger than at the start of the conflict. Other estimates suggest Russia operates more than 400 ships for this purpose.

Authorities have said such fleets typically consist of ageing vessels owned by non-transparent entities based in non-sanctioning countries and operating under flags of convenience. Ownership and identification details are frequently changed.

French naval forces also boarded another oil tanker off the country’s Atlantic coast last September, an interception that President Emmanuel Macron linked to the shadow fleet.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin criticised that action, describing it as piracy. The captain of that vessel is scheduled to stand trial next week over the crew’s alleged refusal to cooperate.

References: AP News, BBC

Source: Maritime Shipping News