Chinese captain of Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker to face trial in France
The captain and first mate of the blacklisted Boracay were detained for refusing to identify themselves to French authorities
A French court is to try the Chinese captain of a tanker from Russia’s “shadow fleet” early next year, prosecutors said on Thursday, after it was intercepted off the coast of France.
Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers, was stopped by French authorities on Saturday, according to a military source who asked not to be named.
Shipping data showed it was positioned off Denmark during mysterious drone flights over the country last month, including over military sites, that prompted brief closures at several airports.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged Europe to “increase the pressure” on Russia’s shadow fleet and follow his country’s lead in detaining vessels used to fuel Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“You kill the business model by detaining, even for days or weeks, these vessels and forcing them to organise themselves differently,” Macron told a leaders’ gathering in Denmark.
He said on Wednesday that France was probing the ship for “serious offences”, but stopped short of confirming reports of a connection to the Denmark drone flights.