On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that it was "a great thing" for France to be investigating a suspected violation by the oil tanker Boracay. The oil tanker is suspected to belong to the "shadow fleet", which is involved in the Russian Oil Trade.

The French authorities are keeping a low profile about the vessel that is currently anchored near Saint Nazaire, a city in western France. The Brest prosecutor announced on Tuesday that an investigation had been launched after the crew did not provide proof of nationality for the vessel and did not comply with orders. However, he gave no other details.

The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that it did not have any information about the vessel. However, the Kremlin added that the Russian military was sometimes required to restore order if foreign countries took what Dmitry Peskov called "provocative" actions.

Speaking in Denmark, Macron said that the "shadow fleet" of Russia contains between 600 and 1,000 ships.

The ownership and insurance of shadow fleet tankers is often opaque and they are more than 20 years older.

The Boracay has been listed as a Russian sanction by the British and European Union. The Boracay was arrested by Estonian authorities in early this year because it did not have a valid flag.

MarineTraffic reports that it left Primorsk, Russia on September 20. The vessel sailed across the Baltic Sea, over Denmark and into the North Sea before transiting through the Channel and entering the North Sea.

The ship tracking data shows that the tanker, built in 2007, was shadowed after it round the northwestern tip of France. It then changed course to head eastwards towards the French coastline.

The Brest prosecutor, France's Navy and other maritime authorities failed to respond to questions Wednesday. (Reporting and writing by Sudip K. Gupta, Alessandro Parodi and Makini Brice; Editing and editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout).

(source: Reuters)