The French Navy intercepted a Russian oil tanker, the Grinch, between Spain and Morocco on Thursday morning.
The operation was conducted “with the support of several of our allies”, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who shared the news on social media platform X.
“This morning, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker coming from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag,” he said, adding: “The vessel has been diverted.”
We will not tolerate any violation.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 22, 2026
This morning, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker coming from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag.
The operation was conducted on the high seas in the Mediterranean,… pic.twitter.com/zhXVdzPx1r
The Russian Embassy in Paris has said that it was not informed about the Grinch’s interception, according to Russian news agency TASS.
“At the moment, together with diplomats from the consulate general in Marseille, we are trying to find out whether there are any Russian citizens among the crew members in order to provide the necessary assistance,” said the embassy.
The Grinch is part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”, comprised of hundreds of aging tankers used to transport Russian oil. The vessels are unregulated and often operate under several identities, swapping flags throughout a journey, to evade Western sanctions on oil exports.
The vessel was reportedly travelling from the Arctic port of Murmansk in northern Russia and was flying a Comoros flag when the French Navy boarded.
The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the most recent introduced on 23 October 2025.
However, Moscow still sells millions of barrels of oil outside of Europe. In 2024, China imported $62.59bn (435.87bn yuan) of crude oil from Russia, while India’s imports came to $52.73bn (Rs4.84tn), according to the UN COMTRADE database on international trade.
Macron referred to the purchasing of Russian oil in his post, commenting that “the activities of the ‘shadow fleet’ contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine”.
His comments were supported by UK Defence Secretary John Healy, who said: “Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels to choke off the funds that fuel Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
He said the UK Navy had provided “tracking and monitoring” and that HMS Dagger had monitored the Grinch through the Straits of Gibraltar.
The UK currently has sanctions imposed on 544 Russian shadow fleet vessels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded directly to Macron on X.
“This is exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia’s war. Russian tankers operating near European shores must be stopped,” he said.
Thank you, France! Thank you, @EmmanuelMacron! This is exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia’s war. Russian tankers operating near European shores must be stopped. Sanctions against the entire infrastructure of the shadow fleet… https://t.co/6t0DbJ9xS1
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 22, 2026
The interception of the Grinch comes only months after France seized the Boracay in October 2025. It is indicative of the broader shadow fleet trend, with Venezuela and Iran also accused of using such vessels to avoid international oil sanctions.
