France seized the oil tanker Grinch as part of a broader crackdown on Russia’s sanction‑evading shadow fleet; after immobilization for three weeks and payment of several million euros in fines, the vessel left French waters.

France’s foreign minister warned that skirting European sanctions comes with a price and reaffirmed ongoing enforcement against similar shadow fleet vessels.

Officials say the shadow fleet includes hundreds of ships with opaque ownership and flags from non‑sanctioning nations, and France and its partners are stepping up efforts to dismantle it.

Moscow criticized the seizure, arguing that no state has the right to seize vessels properly registered under other jurisdictions.

Western allies have intensified sanctions targeting shadow tankers and have seized or attempted to seize vessels tied to sanctioned oil, including cases where flags were changed mid-operation.

There is a broader pattern of deteriorating ships and opaque companies in non‑sanctioning countries used to control shadow fleet operations.

The broader push includes US and UK actions to seize sanctioned tankers, and incidents like India’s Coast Guard detaining US‑sanctioned Iranian oil tankers, reflecting an international effort to curb shadow fleet activity.

Multiple seizures of sanctioned tankers have occurred in recent months as part of this global campaign.

Britain and European allies had discussed possible seizures of shadow fleet vessels as part of pressure on Moscow’s war economy.

The incident follows ongoing talks among Western partners about confiscating Russian shadow fleet tankers.

French authorities redirected and detained the Grinch in Fos-sur-Mer on suspicion of failing to fly a valid flag, with Indian crew aboard remaining on the vessel during proceedings.

The Grinch was detained in Marseille for investigation into nationality documentation, after authorities redirected the ship for flag‑related charges.