The French Navy boarded and diverted a suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean off Sicily. In a social media post, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the French Navy intercepted tanker MT Deliver on Tuesday as it transited off the coast of Sicily in violation of maritime law, US Naval Institute News reports.
The seizure on Tuesday marked France’s fifth seizure of a suspected shadow fleet tanker since September 2025. It’s the second seizure of a Russian shadow ship this month following the U.K.’s seizure of a shadow fleet tanker in the English Channel on Jun. 14.
“We will not allow the shadow fleet to evade sanctions and fund Russia’s war effort. Europe is determined. It will pursue all necessary efforts to increase the cost of the war for Russia and enable the emergence of a robust and lasting peace in Ukraine,” said Macron. He included a short clip of the boarding action with French military personnel rappelling down from a French Navy Panther helicopter.
France’s Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean said in a release said the ship was flying a Cameroonian flag and coming from Primorsk, Russia. An examination of the documents by the boarding team confirmed doubts regarding the validity of the flag. A report was filed with the public prosecutor in Marseille, who has jurisdiction over maritime matters. The ship was diverted and is currently being escorted by the French Navy.
“This action, carried out in close cooperation with the European operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI and with our allies including the United Kingdom, illustrates the constant commitment and determination of France and its partners to act for the respect of international law,” read the release. Headed by a naval officer, the Maritime Prefect is France’s representative at sea, responsible for maritime safety. The French Joint Staff posted a longer video of the operation showing that the helicopter was operating together with a French Navy warship during the operation.
Sanctioned tanker MT Tagor which was boarded and seized by France on the same grounds of flying a false flag on May 31, also flew a Cameroonian flag. Both Deliver and Tagor had been removed by Cameroon earlier this year from its registry of flagged ships as the country mounted a crackdown on the use of its flag for illegal and fraudulent activities.
European Naval Force Mediterranean IRINI (EUNAVFOR MED Irini) was launched on 31 March 2020 with the primary mission to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya due to the Second Libyan Civil War. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the mission has since expanded to include providing maritime security in the Mediterranean and consists of a rotational deployment by EU countries to make up a task group of three ships supported by surveillance aircraft. The current rotation is led by Italian Navy multirole combat vessel ITS Francesco Morosini (P431).
The UN allowed the mission’s mandate to lapse on May 24 but the mission continues under the aegis of the EU with the EU mandate lasting until Mar. 31 2027. Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission stated on Jun. 8that the rules of engagement had been changed for the Irini mission to allow boarding of suspected shadow fleet ship.
EUNAVFOR MED Irini on its official social media account stated that it coordinated with the French Navy operation with its assets ensuring monitoring and providing images and information throughout the operation. The U.K., as of the time of publication has not released details of its participation but previous seizures by the French Navy in the Mediterranean were supported by the fast patrol boats of the Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron, which shadowed and reported the movements of the suspect shadow fleet tanker.
