French President Emmanuel Macron said that detaining oil tankers can help put a stop to the shadow fleet that helps Russia skirt sanctions and export barrels around the world. His comments come after prosecutors in northwest France investigated a vessel for failing to provide proof of its nationality and flag, as well as refusal to comply with requests from the navy. The oil tanker Boracay was boarded off the coast on Sept. 27, and the captain has been summoned to appear before a court next year, prosecutors said in a statement. The ship left Russia last month and was sailing to India, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The US, UK and European Union have sanctioned hundreds of tankers for helping Russia export oil to fund its war in Ukraine, while the Group of Seven nations said this week it’s closing in on an agreement to ramp up curbs on Moscow’s oil revenue. Russian oil has mostly continued to flow so far, despite previous measures imposed by the G-7 and its allies.
“You kill the business model by detaining, even for days or weeks, these vessels and forcing them to organize themselves differently,” Macron said Thursday in Copenhagen. The Boracay is sanctioned by the UK and EU and has had several different names in the last 11 months, according to the Equasis maritime database. It’s also sailing under a fraudulent flag, Equasis data show. The ship’s manager didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. “It represents more than €30 billion, so it’s extremely important to increase the pressure on this shadow fleet because it will clearly reduce the capacity to finance this war effort for Russia,” Macron said of efforts to pressure the shadow fleet more broadly on Thursday.
NN: As Putin predicted oil will soar in price when not if in my opinion Russian oil tankers are seized