PARIS — France has intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Atlantic with UK support, President Emmanuel Macron has said. Officers boarded the Tagor, which maritime authorities said had been flying a false flag, on Sunday morning in international waters more than 400 nautical miles (740km) west of Brittany with the help of the UK and other partners, said the French president. According to French authorities, the vessel was on its way from Murmansk in north-west Russia when it was seized. Macron said the French navy boarded an oil tanker that was subject to international sanctions and sailing from Russia. He posted a video he said was of the seizure, which showed commandos descending from a helicopter on to a ship. “It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine,” Macron wrote on X. A British helicopter provided support during the operation, the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) told the BBC. The Kremlin said the “illegal” seizure was “bordering on international piracy”. “Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Moscow has been operating a “shadow fleet” of tankers with obscure ownership structures to evade international sanctions imposed on its oil exports since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It is the fourth ship suspected shadow fleet vessel that France has boarded since September 2025. Macron said the operation, which took place in international waters, had been undertaken with allies including the UK “in strict compliance with the law of the sea”. An MoD spokesperson said a helicopter which had been on board HMS Somerset provided “tracking and monitoring in support of the French operation”. “Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels – to choke off the funds that fuel Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.” “These vessels, which fail to adhere to the most basic rules of maritime navigation, also pose a threat to the environment and to everyone’s safety,” he said. In a video shared by the French president, armed naval officers could be seen boarding the tanker via a helicopter. Previously, French authorities had allowed these ships to continue operating after .their owners paid fines but have since vowed to block them. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in March he similarly had granted permission for the UK military to board sanctioned Russian ships. But almost 200 Russian “shadow fleet” vessels had entered UK waters as of 11 May since the prime minister threatened to intercept them in mid-March, the BBC reported.
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