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Shadow fleet: French tanker crew detained as another tanker loiters over Baltic cables
Shadow fleet tankers face scrutiny in Europe: in France, a tanker crew is detained, while in Baltic waters, as one tanker crew escapes trial, another tanker drifts suspiciously over subsea cables
French authorities have detained the captain and first officer of the oil tanker Boracay following a dramatic naval interception of the vessel off the French Atlantic coast near Saint‑Nazaire.
The vessel is subject to EU and UK sanctions due to suspected links to Russia’s shadow fleet, and French commandos seized the vessel off the west coast of France.
Earlier, the French Navy reported that the Boracay crew failed to present verified proof of nationality and did not comply with French orders to confirm flag registration.
The case has been referred to the public prosecutor’s office in Brest, and the prosecutor’s office has announced a trial for the vessel’s captain, which is set for February 2026. Further specifics of the suspected offence have not yet been disclosed.
President Emmanuel Macron publicly endorsed the investigation, describing it as “a good thing” that France is probing the tanker’s operations.
In Denmark, news sources have linked the tanker’s erratic progress in international waters close to its coast to the appearance of drones that appeared over its airports. UK-based news outlets have linked the vessel to other drone invasions into various EU countries’ sovereign airspaces. Russian authorities have issued denials of knowledge of the incidents, while Polish Prime Minister and former European Council president Donald Tusk called the actions "a new type of war" and urged Europe to ensure Russia does not win its war in Ukraine, as reported by The Guardian in the UK.
Baltic Sea: as suspicious activities continue, Finnish court steps back from prosecution
AIS data and analysis by maritime artificial intelligence firm Windward has shown an Aframax tanker of dubious provenance drifting over undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.
Windward has flagged a 2009-built, 115,600-dwt Aframax tanker variously called Devika or Qasr (IMO 9402471) as “drifting suspiciously over a NATO undersea electricity cable in the Baltic.”
The vessel is a member of the shadow tanker fleet and has various names.
AIS data from VesselFinder identifies the vessel as Devika under the Malawi flag, anchored in the Baltic Sea.
VesselValue list the vessel as Qasr, and Windward notes that, “This well-known, anonymously owned dark fleet ship has been flouting international maritime rules since May when it reflagged to Malawi.”
Over a 24-hour period, Windward noted the vessel drifted three times over the undersea cables.
Such movements over cable paths are under scrutiny, given concerns about infrastructure interference, though no overt damage has yet been confirmed in the public record.
In an incident in December 2024, damage was confirmed to subsea infrastructure when Eagle S severed undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea.
Charges were brought, but in Helsinki on Friday, 3 October, a district court threw out the case against the Eagle S tanker’s captain and two officers, who were accused of severing the cable.
While prosecutors had alleged the ship dragged its anchor for around 90 km, damaging the Estlink 2 power cable and four communications lines, the court ruled that Finland lacks jurisdiction to prosecute.
The ship was flagged under the Cook Islands, complicating the court’s legal reach. The defendants denied intentional wrongdoing, claiming the anchor drop was unintentional and tied to technical faults. The ruling may be subject to appeal.
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