Russian shadow tanker’s Indian captain, crew in French custody
The Grinch is suspected of belonging to Russia’s sanctions-busting ‘shadow fleet’ for the vessel’s failure to fly a flag
France on Sunday took into custody the Indian captain of an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet” for the vessel’s failure to fly a flag, prosecutors said.
The 58-year-old captain was in charge of the tanker, the Grinch, which was seized by the French navy in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday and is now moored under guard at a southern French port near Marseille.
The Marseille prosecutors’ office, in charge of investigating the case, said the rest of the ship’s crew – all also Indians – were being “kept on board”.
The Grinch is thought to be part of a fleet of mostly old tankers used to transport Russian oil in violation of sanctions imposed by Western countries and the G7 over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vessels in that “shadow fleet” frequently change the flags they fly, in a practice known as “flag-hopping” and sometimes sail under invalid flags, in an attempt to escape detection and tracking.
The Grinch was escorted by the French navy on Saturday to the Gulf of Fos in southern France.
It was anchored about 500 metres off the town of Martigues, a photographer observed on Sunday. A French navy ship and two gendarmerie patrol boats were stationed nearby.