The French Navy boarded and seized a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Russia's shadow fleet in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday. The vessel, named the Tagor, was intercepted in international waters with tactical support from the United Kingdom and other allied partners, around 400 nautical miles west of the tip of Brittany. France's Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic confirmed it had originated from Murmansk, Russia.
La Marine nationale a arraisonné hier matin un nouveau pétrolier sous sanctions internationales en provenance de Russie : le Tagor. Notre détermination est constante et totale.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 1, 2026
Cette intervention a été effectuée en Atlantique, en haute mer,… pic.twitter.com/zxEslYjbUE
"It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years," Macron wrote on X, alongside images of French forces boarding the vessel. He added that ships of this kind "also represent a threat to the environment and to the safety of all," and described France's determination to combat the Russian shadow fleet as "continuous and total."
It marks the fourth time since September 2025 that France has boarded vessels believed to belong to Russia's shadow fleet. The previous three interceptions set a pattern of escalating action: in September 2025, French naval forces stopped the Boracay off the Atlantic coast, a vessel later found to have had two Russian nationals employed by a private security company on board, tasked with monitoring the crew and gathering intelligence. In January 2026, the Navy intercepted the Grinch in the Mediterranean, diverting it to the port of Marseille-Fos after finding it had left Murmansk in early January and was suspected of operating under a false flag. Its Indian captain was detained for questioning by judicial authorities.
The shadow fleet is a central instrument of Russia's effort to keep oil revenues flowing despite Western sanctions. Russia is believed to be using a fleet of over 400 ships to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine, comprising ageing vessels owned by non-transparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries and sailing under flags from those same countries. Financial intelligence firm S&P Global estimates that one in five oil tankers worldwide are used to smuggle oil from sanctioned countries.
France has positioned itself as one of the most assertive European powers in enforcing maritime sanctions, conducting its operations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The United Kingdom has provided support across multiple interceptions, including vessel tracking and monitoring. Russia's President Vladimir Putin previously denounced one of the earlier French interceptions as an act of piracy.
