France detains Indian captain of suspected Russian shadow tanker
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The silhouette of a French Navy boat near the Grinch oil tanker, intercepted by France in the Alboran Sea on suspicion of operating under a false flag in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, near Martigues, France.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MARSEILLE, France – The captain of an oil tanker intercepted by the French Navy
The tanker, named Grinch, was seized in the Mediterranean on Jan 22 and diverted to anchor off the French port city on suspicion of being part of the shadow fleet that allows Russia to export oil despite sanctions.
The 58-year-old captain, an Indian national, was detained as part of the preliminary investigation, the prosecutors said in a statement that did not mention Russia.
The vessel left the Russian port of Murmansk in early January, sailing under a Comoros flag, the French authorities said.
Other crew members, also Indian nationals, remain on board the ship while investigators verify the validity of the flag and the vessel's navigation documents, the statement added.
The European Union has imposed 19 packages of sanctions on Russia, but Moscow has adapted to most measures and continues to sell millions of barrels of oil to countries such as India and China, typically at discounted prices.
Much of the oil is carried by a so-called shadow fleet of vessels operating outside the Western maritime industry.
In October, France detained another sanctioned tanker
