By John Irish, Marc Leras and Gianluca Lo Nostro
PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - The French Navy seized an oil tanker on Friday in the Western Mediterranean that President Emmanuel Macron said belonged to Russia's shadow fleet, a network of vessels that enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.
Local officials told Reuters earlier on Friday that the navy had boarded a Mozambique-flagged oil tanker named Deyna that was suspected of flying a false flag. The ship had been sailing from the Russian port of Murmansk.
Western sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine and aimed at cutting its oil revenue have led to the rise of a shadow fleet of tankers helping Moscow keep its crude exports flowing.
"The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated," Macron wrote in a post on X.
"These ships, which circumvent international sanctions and violate the law of the sea, are war profiteers. They seek to reap profits and finance Russia's war effort."
While European sanctions remain in place, the U.S. has temporarily eased sanctions on the sale of Russian oil as the Middle East war disrupts oil supplies and boosts prices.
The Russian embassy in France did not immediately reply to a request for comment, but Moscow has previously called the seizure of its tankers or vessels carrying its cargoes an act of piracy.
OPAQUE OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES
A Western military source said the tanker was carrying Russian crude oil.
Shadow fleet vessels typically have opaque ownership structures and have raised concern about environmental risks, with poorly regulated, ageing tankers prone to spills, mechanical failures and leaks, threatening marine ecosystems.
They usually sail without top-tier Western insurance or safety certification cover, and often have unknown insurers or assessors of the vessels' seaworthiness - both required for ocean-going commercial ships, shipping and insurance industry sources familiar with the matter have said.
The operation was carried out with British allies, the French Mediterranean prefecture said.
Britain's Defence Minister John Healey said in a post on X that its armed forces had supported the French operation, saying that "disrupting, deterring and degrading Russia's shadow fleet - and starving Putin’s war machine of funds - is a priority for this government" and its allies.
FRANCE ADOPTING MORE ASSERTIVE POSTURE
At the prosecutor's request, the vessel was escorted to an anchorage point for further inspection, the French military said.
"These inspections will likely focus on vessel documentation, including flag state registration and P&I Club insurance, with particular scrutiny on any discrepancies or evidence of falsified documents," a maritime security source said.
The source added that recent public statements by French authorities suggested a more assertive posture, indicating a realistic possibility that this case could escalate further.
"Should material irregularities or violations be identified, French authorities may proceed with the formal seizure of the vessel," the source said.
It was the second such interception by France in recent months. In January, France stopped the oil tanker Grinch between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco on suspicion that it was part of the Russian shadow fleet.
The French navy assisted Belgium in a third operation earlier in March.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul and Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Makini Brice, Timothy Heritage, Rod Nickel)
