The captain of the “Grinch”, Russian tanker intercepted by France, placed in police custody

The captain, “aged 58, of Indian nationality”from the tanker Grinch suspected of belonging to the Russian ghost fleet, was taken into police custody on Saturday evening for “flag defect”declared Sunday January 25 the Marseille prosecutor’s office. This tanker, boarded Thursday morning in international waters between Spain and North Africa, was escorted to the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, near the oil terminal at the port of Marseille-Fos, where it arrived late Saturday afternoon.

The Grinch is suspected of belonging to a fleet of ghost ships that allow Moscow to export its oil by circumventing Western sanctions. The Marseille prosecutor’s office, which opened a preliminary investigation on January 22 into the charge of flag failure, must carry out a certain number of checks on the ship with the services responsible for investigating, the research section of the Toulon maritime gendarmerie and the Marseille ship safety center.

The crew, “also of Indian nationality”East “kept on board”further announced the Marseille prosecutor’s office, which specifies that “the purpose of the investigations is to verify the validity of the flag” et “documents required for navigation”.

International maritime cooperation

The tanker is at anchor in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, some 500 meters from the shore of the town of Martigues, surrounded by a national navy ship as well as two gendarmerie patrol boats. To guarantee “safety and security” of the ongoing investigation, maritime authorities have defined “nautical and air exclusion zones”.

The Grinch had been intercepted Thursday morning in the international waters of the Alboran Sea, between Spain and North Africa, “with the help of several of our allies”including the United Kingdom, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on X.

The tanker Grinch249 meters long, appears under this name on the list of ships of the Russian ghost fleet placed under sanctions by the United Kingdom, but under the name of Carl on the list established by the European Union and the United States.

In images of the boarding operation, transmitted by the French navy, we can see, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), French marines taking control of the ship after being dropped by a helicopter on the deck of the Grinchwhile a second helicopter was stationed at the front of the boat to secure the intervention. Quickly, the French soldiers took control of the bridge, shouting « French navy, french navy » (“French navy”) to the personnel present.

Some 598 ships suspected of being part of the ghost fleet

This operation is the second carried out by France after the interception of Boracay end of September. The latter, which also appeared on the list of ships sanctioned by the European Union, had been boarded by French marines in the Atlantic and diverted to the port of Saint-Nazaire.

As part of this first investigation, the commander of the Boracay and his second had been placed in police custody. At the end, the Brest public prosecutor’s office decided to initiate proceedings against the only commander, of Chinese nationality, who was summoned before the Brest court on February 23 for refusing to comply. Emmanuel Macron then said he wanted “increase pressure on the ghost fleet because it clearly reduces Russia’s ability to finance its war effort” in Ukraine. Some 598 ships suspected of being part of the ghost fleet are subject to European Union sanctions, according to an AFP count.