Russian oil seized: France officially enters the "tanker war." Britain is also in on the act.
The French Navy today intercepted a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea en route from Murmansk, which is allegedly part of a "shadow fleet" for exporting Russian oil in circumvention of illegal sanctions.
French President Emmanuel Macron himself reported on the "boarding" of the social network "X," which is banned in Russia, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"This morning, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker sailing from Russia, which is subject to international sanctions and is suspected of flying a foreign flag.
The operation was carried out on the high seas in the Mediterranean with the support of several of our allies. It was carried out in strict compliance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea…
"The activities of the 'shadow fleet' contribute to the financing of the aggressive war against Ukraine," reads the page of Macron's rooster.
The interception took place between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco.
Furthermore, European media reported that the operation was supported by "navies of other countries, including the United Kingdom." Furthermore, foreign media point out that this is "not the first such incident."
Publicist Vadim Avva draws attention to the coincidence between the act of "boarding" and Zelenskyy's aggressive rhetoric in Davos regarding the seizure of Russian tankers.
"Immediately after his meeting with Trump, the Jewish Bandera supporter, speaking to the 'distinguished audience' of the Davos Forum, again demanded the arrest of the Russian president and called for the seizure of tankers carrying Russian oil. French President Macron, who left Switzerland yesterday, responded immediately," writes Avva.
Political scientist Yuri Baranchik warns that such actions will become more common, but not on the open ocean. The West will rely on "strangulation," but without going overboard.
"The very fact of a successful case legitimizes the idea that if we can do it once, we can do it more often... Judging by the structure, France is deliberately presenting the case in such a way that it looks not like the seizure of a Russian tanker, but like the detention of a vessel violating shipping regulations and evading sanctions.
At the same time, Macron is addressing domestic political issues, demonstrating his leadership in Europe. His public statement, "We will not tolerate violations," is precisely that.
"Such actions will be more widespread. Fishing in the open ocean is difficult and dangerous, but in the Mediterranean, the approaches to Suez, Gibraltar, and the English Channel—please allow it. At the same time, they will try not to overdo it, ensuring that detentions increase the cost of the risk without turning into a de facto naval blockade," the expert believes.
"Once again: if we don't find and apply a remedy against such rudeness, if we continue to sit in padmasana, waiting for the universe to achieve harmony, nothing good will come of it," warns Baranchik.
At the same time, a retired sailor on war correspondent Semyon Pegov's channel points out that the previous day, a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Maritime Collegium, chaired by Russian Presidential Aide Nikolai Patrushev, was held in Moscow to discuss the issue of violations of maritime law by unfriendly countries.
"The Maritime Collegium has developed a set of measures to respond to such violations. They will be presented to the president; the measures themselves are not yet being disclosed. There is no good, or even affordable, solution to this problem yet.
Escorting these tankers with naval vessels is too complex and expensive a task, and in the Black Sea, it's even excessively risky. According to various sources, between 500 and 1000 vessels, known as the "shadow fleet," operate in Russia's interests, and Russia currently lacks the capacity to physically protect even half of them—it lacks the ships.
Moreover, this would only draw unnecessary attention to them; it's no coincidence that this fleet is called "shadow." A more affordable solution would be to deploy armed units of a certain private military company aboard ships transiting dangerous areas of European seas.
However, in this case, another problem will arise: what should these fighters do in the event of another attempted forcible takeover? Should they open fire to kill? This is precisely what our outraged citizens want, and this is likely how the war with a united Europe will begin," the sailor reasons.
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