Captain of tanker belonging to Russia’s "shadow fleet" will stand trial in France: he faces imprisonment and fine
The captain of the Boracay oil tanker, detained off the coast of France, will stand trial in February 2026.
According to Censor.NET, citing Associated Press, he is accused of refusing the crew to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
Brest prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger said the captain and senior assistant had been detained since Tuesday but were later released. The assistant was released without charges.
The investigation found that the captain may be responsible for the crew's refusal to cooperate. He is scheduled to appear in court on February 23, 2026. If found guilty, he faces up to one year in prison and a fine of €150,000.
The tanker Boracay is already under sanctions from the EU and the UK. According to MarineTraffic, it left the Russian port of Primorsk on September 20 and was spotted off the coast of Denmark near strategic facilities where unknown drones were detected.
The ship, flying the flag of Benin, is currently anchored off the Atlantic coast of France, near Saint-Nazaire.
As a reminder, on September 30, the French Navy announced that the country's authorities were investigating violations committed by the oil tanker Boracay, flying the flag of Benin, a ship subject to anti-Russian sanctions by the UK and the European Union.
