EU forces board suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean
Forces of the EU's Operation Irini stopped and boarded the tanker MV Midag in the Mediterranean on 13 November on suspicion of belonging to Russia's shadow fleet. The inspection confirmed the vessel was sailing under a false flag.
EU forces taking part in Operation Irini stopped and boarded the tanker MV Midag in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, 13 November, on suspicion that it belongs to Russia's so-called shadow fleet. The announcement came from Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The shadow fleet is a network of vessels Russia uses to get around sanctions, including by obscuring who owns the ships and where they are registered.
Writing on X, Kallas said the inspection was carried out under Article 110 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and confirmed that the MV Midag was sailing under a false flag. She said the EU would keep disrupting Russia's shadow fleet both at sea and through diplomatic means.
Kallas added that EU foreign ministers are due to approve new sanctions against Russia on Monday, 16 November. The measures will target banks, buyers and companies that support the shadow fleet.
Earlier cases
At the beginning of August, the Irini mission inspected the tanker Toa Payoh, which belongs to Russia's shadow fleet, to verify its country of registration and the flag it was sailing under. France, meanwhile, previously imposed a fine of €1 million on the Tagor, a Russian shadow fleet tanker that was detained in May. An investigation into another vessel from the fleet is ongoing.
