"This morning, the French navy boarded and searched an oil tanker from Russia, which is subject to international sanctions and is suspected of sailing under a false flag," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.
Local maritime authorities say an oil tanker has been stopped by the navy in the waters between Spain and Morocco. Suspicions of a false flag operation were strengthened after documents on the ship were examined, they added.
The ship is now reportedly being escorted to a location where further investigations will be carried out.
“The activities of the shadow fleet help finance the war of aggression against Ukraine,” Macron wrote.
The term refers to tankers transporting sanctioned oil that Russia is believed to be selling on the black market.
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