#russia-shadow-fleet

#russia-shadow-fleet

Western governments have accused Vladimir Putin's administration of relying on a network of ageing oil tankers operating under opaque ownership structures to bypass energy sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine. Estimates from maritime analysts suggest the shadow fleet could number several hundred vessels globally, many of which transit European waters each month carrying discounted Russian crude to buyers in Asia and elsewhere.

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.