France has sentenced the captain of a ‘shadow fleet’ tanker to one year in prison
A criminal court in the French city of Brest has issued an arrest warrant for Captain Chen Zhangjie, as the verdict was handed down in absentia, according to the AFP news agency.
Following the detention of the tanker off the Atlantic coast of France and the questioning of the crew, the vessel was released, as required by law. Chen was also fined €150,000.
The court ruling states that the captain failed to comply with a French warship’s request to inspect the Boracay, which was on the EU sanctions list and was sailing without a flag. During the pursuit, the tanker hoisted the flag of Benin, which turned out to be a fake.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees freedom of navigation, permits the interception of vessels ‘without national ownership’. European countries have been making use of this provision over the past six months, detaining several tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet.
The Boracay subsequently changed its name to Phoenix and now sails under the Russian flag.
The tanker was also suspected of having launched reconnaissance drones in September, which led to the temporary closure of airports in Denmark. However, the French court did not consider this aspect.
Furthermore, as French investigators discovered, there were two employees of the Russian private security company Moran Security Group on board the Boracay, who had previously served with the Vagenr private military company. They were tasked with monitoring the crew, keeping the captain under control and gathering intelligence.
