"France on Sunday took into custody the Indian captain of an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia's sanctions-busting 'shadow fleet' after the vessel failed to fly a flag, prosecutors said. The 58-year-old captain was in charge of the Grinch tanker, which was seized by the French navy in the Mediterranean on Thursday and is now moored, under guard, at a southern French port near Marseille."
"The Grinch is thought to be part of a fleet of old tankers used to transport Russian oil in violation of a crude price cap imposed by Western countries and the G7 over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Vessels in the 'shadow fleet' frequently change the flags they fly in a practice known as 'flag-hopping' and sometimes sail under invalid flags in an attempt to escape detection and tracking."
"The Grinch was escorted by the French navy on Saturday to the Gulf of Fos, in southern France. It was anchored about 500 metres off the town of Martigues, an AFP photographer observed on Sunday. A French navy ship and two gendarmerie patrol boats were stationed nearby. The local prefecture said nautical and air exclusion zones had been established around the anchorage site."
French authorities seized the 249-metre tanker Grinch and detained its 58-year-old Indian captain after the vessel failed to fly a flag. The tanker is moored under guard at a southern French port near Marseille while the rest of the crew remain on board. The Grinch is suspected to belong to a fleet of ageing tankers used to move Russian oil in breach of a G7-imposed crude price cap, with vessels often changing or using invalid flags to avoid detection. The ship was escorted to the Gulf of Fos, anchored off Martigues, and placed under exclusion zones. Several hundred vessels linked to the shadow fleet face EU sanctions.
Read at The Local France
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