Belgium on Sunday said that its special forces had boarded and seized an oil tanker from the “shadow fleet” Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, in an overnight operation.
The Belgian government said the vessel was intercepted in the North Sea, with aerial support from French military helicopters.
Belgian Minister of Defense Theo Francken said the tanker was escorted to the port of Zeebrugge after being intercepted in Belgium’s exclusive economic zone.
Photo: EPA / Belgiwn Ministry of Defense
Prosecutors identified the ship, which was said to be on its way back to Russia, as the Ethera.
A Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman said the ship’s captain, a Russian national, was being questioned by investigators.
The tanker flew the flag of Guinea, but an onboard inspection confirmed suspicions that it was sailing under a false flag, the office said, adding that authorities have opened a criminal investigation.
“If a ship sails under a false flag, this means that it does not comply with several international regulations,” a statement said.
French President Emmanuel Macron on social media confirmed that his nation’s naval forces assisted in the operation, calling it a “major blow” to Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Russia has used a flotilla of aging tankers of opaque ownership to get around restrictions on its lucrative crude oil exports imposed over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Belgian Ministry of Defense said that the seized tanker was on the EU’s sanctions list. The EU has blacklisted hundreds of vessels in a bid to sap Moscow’s war chest.
“Sanctions only matter if they are enforced. Today, we enforced them,” Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation Maxime Prevot, who is also Belgium’s deputy prime minister, said on social media.
The operation was carried out alongside Belgium’s G7, Nordic and Baltic partners, and in coordination with France, he added.
“Great job Belgium stopping these bad guys,” US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White wrote on social media.
France provided air support with two NH90 helicopters. Footage of the operation posted online by Macron showed Belgian forces rappelling down from the aircraft to board the ship.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever on social media congratulated his nation’s armed forces on their “professional and decisive conduct,” and thanked France for its “essential support.”
The Russian embassy in Belgium said that it had not been officially notified of the tanker’s detention, nor informed about the nationality of its crew.
“The embassy is currently taking the necessary steps to determine whether there are Russian citizens on board and to ensure their legal rights if confirmed,” it said.
Sanctions aimed at limiting Moscow’s revenues used to pursue its war have shut out many tankers carrying Russian oil from Western insurance and shipping systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed Belgium’s “strong action against Moscow’s floating purse” and thanked France for supporting the operation.
“This particular vessel has long been under US, EU, and UK sanctions, but nonetheless continued to illegally transport Russian oil using a false flag and forged documents,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media.
It was revealed last month that two employees of a Russian private security company were aboard another suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker seized by France in September last year. The two men were employed by Moran Security Group, a Russian private security company, and were tasked with monitoring the crew and gathering intelligence, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
French forces boarded another suspected Russian tanker, the Grinch, in January, but the ship was later let go after its owner paid a multimillion euros fine, something an analyst said highlighted legal difficulties related to such operations.
“Belgium deserves credit, but the harder question is what happens next,” said Max Meizlish of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. “European governments keep hitting the same wall — they have the will to board these ships, but not always the legal tools to keep them. Europe needs to close the legal gap.”
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