France launched an investigation today into an oil tanker intercepted by the country's navy in the Mediterranean Sea, suspected of carrying Russian oil in violation of sanctions against Moscow, prosecutors said.
The tanker, called the Grinch, sailed from Murmansk in northwestern Russia and is suspected of being part of a sanctioned Russian fleet in secret, and was diverted to anchorage after being intercepted by the French navy yesterday.
Prosecutors in Marseille said today they were investigating the ship's alleged failure to confirm its nationality.
Russia is believed to be using a so-called shadow fleet of more than 400 ships to evade sanctions over the war in Ukraine, and France and several other European countries have vowed to take action against Moscow's plan.
The fleet consists mainly of old ships with non-transparent markings and addresses in countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia.
The French navy intercepted another oil tanker off the Atlantic coast in September last year, which President Emmanuel Macron linked to the same shadowy fleet and was later condemned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The captain of that ship will go on trial in February for the crew's alleged refusal to cooperate, according to a statement from French judicial authorities.
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