French military personnel have boarded an oil tanker named on a list of Russia's 'shadow fleet' vessels, suspected of being a launchpad for mystery drone flights that forced the closure of airports in Denmark last week. The tanker, known as the Boracay, was intercepted by a French naval vessel on Sunday and diverted towards Saint-Nazaire in western France while inquiries continue.
Stéphane Kellenberger, the public prosecutor in Brest, told Agence France-Presse that two crew members – who presented themselves as the ship's captain and his first mate – had been taken into custody. Kellenberger said an investigation was taking place after the crew's 'failure to justify the nationality of the vessel' and 'refusal to cooperate'.
The Boracay, a Benin-flagged tanker, had just changed its name from Pushpa. Under that name, it was monitored sailing west around Denmark last week, and was cited by naval experts as one of a handful of Russia-linked vessels that may have been involved in the drone incidents. Copenhagen airport was closed for four hours on 22 September and Aalborg airport two days later after drones were sighted in Danish airspace.
The tanker was sailing from the Russian oil terminal in Primorsk near St Petersburg, carrying 750,000 barrels of crude oil, to Vadinar in India. It had previously been placed under investigation by the French public prosecutor, a move described by President Emmanuel Macron as a 'good thing'. The Kremlin said it had no information about the tanker or the incident when asked.
The Boracay is subject to economic sanctions by the UK, the EU and others. The UK said in October 2024 the tanker, then called Varuna, was part of Russia's shadow fleet. In April this year, the tanker, then known as Kiwala, was detained by Estonian authorities after they were unable to confirm its registry in Djibouti.
