French Navy Seizes Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker in Mediterranean

The French Navy seized an oil tanker in the Western Mediterranean on Friday, a move declared by President Emmanuel Macron as a strike against Russia's shadow fleet. This clandestine network of vessels facilitates Moscow's oil exports in defiance of Western sanctions.

Local authorities, working alongside British counterparts, confirmed the boarding of the vessel, Deyna, flagged under Mozambique but suspected of flying a false one. The journey began from Murmansk, a Russian port.

Macron's administration has intensified efforts against such contraventions of international law, calling them war profiteering actions. This incident follows a similar interception of another tanker, Grinch, earlier this year, evidencing a sustained strategy against maritime sanction violators.