EU forces board suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker in Mediterranean

EU forces boarded an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Mediterranean for a flag verification, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Monday.

Kaja Kallas said the MV SUN was boarded Sunday by forces from the EU’s Mediterranean naval mission, Operation IRINI, over suspicions that it was sailing under a false flag in violation of international maritime law.

“Illegal oil sales from shadow fleet ships are a critical lifeline for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and we’ll continue to cut them off,” Kallas said on the US social media company X.

She added that the MV SUN was the sixth suspected shadow fleet vessel boarded by EU operations in recent months.

Measures targeting Russia’s shadow fleet will be discussed when EU defense ministers meet in Ireland on Tuesday, according to Kallas.