Belgium Seizes Suspected Russian Shadow Fleet Oil Tanker

(MENAFN) Belgian armed forces boarded and seized a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the North Sea on Saturday night, in a joint operation with France that defense officials hailed as a significant strike against Moscow's efforts to circumvent Western sanctions.

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken announced the dramatic seizure via X, the US social media platform owned by Elon Musk, confirming the vessel was being escorted to the northern port of Zeebrugge.

"Over the past few hours, our armed forces, with the support of the French Defence, have boarded an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet. The vessel is currently being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized," Francken wrote.

The minister paid tribute to those who carried out the high-risk maritime boarding, stating that "Operation Blue Intruder" was executed "by a team of exceptionally brave service members."

French President Emmanuel Macron swiftly endorsed the operation, framing it as a decisive demonstration of European resolve to choke off Russia's wartime financing.

"A major blow to the shadow fleet: in the North Sea, our French Navy helicopters helped last night in the boarding by Belgian forces of an oil tanker under international sanctions," Macron wrote on X.

The French leader used the moment to reinforce allied unity, reiterating Europeans' determination to cut off the funding resources for Russia's military operations in Ukraine by enforcing sanctions.

The seizure marks one of the most assertive European enforcement actions yet against Russia's sprawling shadow fleet — a network of vessels widely accused of covertly transporting Russian oil in deliberate violation of international sanctions imposed following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

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