Russia's masked 'shadow fleet' tanker from Murmansk grounded in France
Russians sent a tanker to sea under a false flag (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
In the French port of Marseille-Fos, the oil tanker GRINCH ran aground. The vessel is suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, reports Reuters.
According to authorities, the ship had previously been intercepted by the French Navy over suspicions of flying a false flag and participating in schemes to circumvent sanctions imposed on Russian oil exports.
The Marseille prosecutor’s office said the tanker’s captain, an Indian national, was temporarily detained but later released and allowed to return to the ship.
French authorities note that the GRINCH departed from the Russian port of Murmansk in early January, sailing under the flag of the Comoros.
Investigations are ongoing into the circumstances of the ship’s use and its possible links to Russia’s shadow fleet.
The GRINCH tanker was intercepted by the French Navy on January 22, 2026, in the western Mediterranean. The ship’s captain, an Indian national, was arrested.
GRINCH is an oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet - a fleet of vessels used to bypass Western sanctions on Russian oil exports.
The vessel is listed under EU, UK, and US sanctions and has been involved in transporting Russian oil, including shipments to China and India.
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate previously explained how Russia’s shadow fleet operates and how many tankers it includes. Regarding Russia's financial losses, since the price cap on Russian oil was introduced in December 2022, Moscow has reportedly spent over $10 billion acquiring shadow-fleet tankers.
