France detains captain of suspected Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker seized in Mediterranean

In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, is pictured after being intercepted by France's Navy.

PARIS — The captain of a tanker intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea by the French navy on suspicion of shipping oil in violation of sanctions against Russia was reported Sunday as being held in custody for questioning.

The ship’s Indian captain was handed to judicial authorities following the diversion of the oil tanker, Grinch, and its arrival at anchorage in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, French media reported, citing a statement by the Marseille prosecutor’s office.

The Ici Provence radio broadcaster reported that the crew, also of Indian nationality, was being kept on board. A preliminary investigation was opened on charges of failure to fly a flag.

The Marseille’s prosecutor office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Grinch came from Murmansk in northwestern Russia and is suspected of being part of the sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet.” A video provided by the French military showed members of the navy boarding the ship from a helicopter earlier this week.

Russia is believed to be using a fleet of over 400 ships to evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. France and other countries have vowed to crack down.

The fleet comprises aging vessels and tankers owned by nontransparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries, and sailing under flags from such countries.

Last September, French naval forces boarded another oil tanker off the French Atlantic coast that President Emmanuel Macron also linked to the shadow fleet. Putin denounced that interception as an act of piracy.

That tanker’s captain will go on trial in February over the crew’s alleged refusal to cooperate, according to French judicial authorities.

The Associated Press