French commandos have seized a Russian-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday. The operation, which took place on Sunday morning in international waters over 400 nautical miles west of Brittany, was carried out with support from the United Kingdom and other partners.
The vessel, identified as the Tagor, was sailing from Murmansk in northwest Russia when it was intercepted. According to French authorities, the ship was flying a false Cameroonian flag and was subject to EU and US sanctions. Macron posted a video of the operation on X, showing commandos descending from a helicopter onto the tanker.
Macron stated: 'It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years.' The French Atlantic maritime prefecture confirmed that the ship was diverted to an anchorage point for further checks after an inspection revealed irregularities with its flag.
The Kremlin condemned the seizure, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling it 'illegal' and bordering on 'international piracy.' Russia's embassy in Paris has requested information about any Russian citizens on board, with preliminary reports indicating the captain is Russian. The Tagor had 23 crew members and was 'almost empty' at the time of boarding.
France and the UK have intensified efforts to disrupt Russia's shadow fleet, which uses deceptive practices such as flag-hopping to evade sanctions. Since September, France has boarded three other shadow fleet vessels, imposing fines before releasing them. In March, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorised the British military to board shadow fleet ships in UK waters.
