Belgium has taken control of an oil tanker thought to belong to the “shadow fleet” that Russia employs to bypass Western sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.
Special‑operations troops, supported by French helicopters, boarded the vessel in a covert raid on the North Sea on Saturday night, defence minister Theo Francken announced on Sunday.
Judges said the ship, named Ethera, was sailing under a counterfeit Guinea flag and was presumed to be returning to Russia when it was intercepted within Belgium’s exclusive economic zone.
The federal prosecutor’s office reported that the captain, a Russian national, is being interrogated and that a criminal probe has been launched.
In a further statement, officials noted that the paperwork recovered aboard the Ethera also appeared to be forged.
Francken added that the tanker was escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be formally seized.
The capture indicates a tougher European stance toward Russia’s shadow fleet.
Since the beginning of the year, Western navies have stepped up monitoring of such vessels in the Baltic and North Seas.
The United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany, in particular, have expanded surveillance missions and are prepared to board ships by helicopter if necessary.
These often‑aged tankers, frequently uninsured or only lightly insured, fly the flags of nations such as Panama, the Gambia, Barbados or the Comoros and move Russian crude to markets in China, India and elsewhere.
The oil is refined in the receiving countries and subsequently sold on global markets.
At that stage the cargo is no longer labelled Russian, allowing it to evade the sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has previously denounced the seizure of its tankers and other cargo‑carrying vessels as acts of piracy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commended Belgium on Sunday for its “strong action against Moscow’s floating purse” and thanked France for assisting the operation.
“This ship has long been subject to US, EU and UK sanctions, yet it kept moving Russian oil under a false flag and forged documents,” he said.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever praised the forces for their “successful operation of the past night.”
In a social‑media post he expressed gratitude to France and affirmed: “Belgium will defend international maritime law and the security of its waters.”
In December, De Wever blocked an EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, warning that Belgium, where most of the assets are held, could face a multibillion‑euro legal challenge from Moscow.
France estimates Russia’s shadow fleet comprises roughly 1,000 to 1,200 vessels.
More than half of those ships are now under sanctions, while the remainder avoid detection through shell companies and re‑flagging.
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