• 3
min read
The French Navy intercepted and boarded a tanker suspected of flying under a false flag as part of Russia's shadow fleet on Oct. 12, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
The tanker, DF Peak, was allegedly transporting sanctioned Russian fuel and was halted by the French Navy 450 nautical miles (833 kilometers) south of the French territory of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
"France is determined to combat the ghost fleet, wherever it may be in the world," Macron wrote on X. "This action, carried out in accordance with international maritime law, demonstrates our determination to uphold the rule of law and combat all illicit trafficking, wherever it occurs."
The tanker DF Peak, previously named Kaliningrad, has falsely sailed under the flag of Benin, according to the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence's War and Sanctions portal. The crude oil tanker is sanctioned by the U.S, EU, Switzerland, Canada, and Japan.
The vessel is currently under escort by the French Navy, France's Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said on X.
"International law is not optional," wrote Vautrin. "Our armed forces are fully mobilized to enforce it and combat illicit activities at sea."
The DF Peak is just one tanker of Russia's "shadow fleet" — a group of aging, poorly insured tankers used by Moscow to ship out its oil in violation of international sanctions. Western governments have also accused Moscow of using the fleet to support its hybrid war against Europe.
Throughout Russia's war on Ukraine, European powers have intercepted shadow fleet vessels in an attempt to stop Moscow from reaping the windfall of illegal fuel sales.
Detentions have helped cut the number of ships in Moscow's shadow fleet flying a false flag to less than half between last October and June 2026, according to a report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank published on Sept. 25.