French navy boards Russian tanker suspected of evading sanctions

France's navy, backed by British forces, boarded the oil tanker Tagor in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday after the vessel was suspected of operating under a false flag while traveling from Murmansk, Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday.

The seizure is the latest in a series of French-led enforcement actions against Russia's shadow fleet — a network of hundreds of vessels the Kremlin uses to sell oil in defiance of international sanctions and fund its war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.

French sailors rappelled from a helicopter onto the Tagor in international waters more than 400 nautical miles west of France while the tanker was en route from Murmansk, Russia, The Korea Times reported. Authorities suspect the ship was flying a false flag, and France is now escorting it to an anchorage for additional inspection.

"It is unacceptable that boats skirt international sanctions, violate the law of the sea and finance the war that Russia has been waging for more than 4 years against Ukraine," Macron wrote in a Monday post on X.

The French president warned that the vessels posed dangers beyond geopolitics. "These ships, that don't respect the most elementary rules of maritime navigation, are also a threat to the environment and everyone's security," Macron said.

Russia's oil revenue sustains its wartime economy, enabling President Vladimir Putin to fund military operations without worsening domestic inflation, according to The Korea Times. The Kremlin is believed to operate a shadow fleet of hundreds of ships designed to move crude past Western sanctions.

The Tagor seizure is the third such French naval action in 2026. The navy intercepted the tanker Deyna in March and the Grinch in January; the Grinch was later released after paying a multimillion-euro penalty, The Korea Times reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected France's justification Monday. "They border on piracy. We absolutely disagree that they are being carried out in full compliance with international law," Peskov said, according to The Korea Times.

France is escorting the Tagor to an anchorage for further checks. No timeline was given for the ship's release or any potential penalty.