Russian oil tanker, the Grinch, intercepted as US, allies escalate sanctions crackdown

The French navy intercepted a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of operating as part of Moscow’s shadow fleet, a network of falsely-flagged vessels used to export oil and avoid Western sanctions, according to reports.

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that French forces had boarded and searched the tanker, which is subject to international sanctions. 

The ship was reportedly sailing from Murmansk, in northern Russia, under the Comoros flag.

Writing on X, Macron said the operation took place on the high seas in the Mediterranean with the support of several allied countries.

The French president added that the vessel had been diverted for further checks.

The tanker, identified as the Grinch, was intercepted between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco in the western Mediterranean, French