MARSEILLE, France – French officials have released an oil tanker suspected of helping Russia evade international sanctions after the vessel’s owners paid a multi-million euro fine, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced Tuesday.
The tanker GRINCH was permitted to depart French waters following the substantial financial penalty, Barrot revealed.
“Circumventing European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to finance its war with impunity through a ghost fleet off our coasts,” Barrot wrote in a social media post.
French maritime authorities had detained the GRINCH in the Mediterranean Sea last month before directing it to waters near the port city of Marseille. Officials suspected the vessel was operating as part of Russia’s shadow fleet – a network of ships designed to transport Russian oil while avoiding international sanctions.
According to French authorities, the tanker had departed from the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk in early January while flying under the flag of Comoros.
Officials stated that the ship’s operating company was required to pay the financial penalty after failing to provide adequate justification for the vessel’s flag registration.
