Overview

• French navy personnel boarded the Boracay near Saint‑Nazaire and placed the vessel under judicial control, with special forces patrolling the deck.
• A Brest prosecutor told Reuters the crew did not comply with orders and failed to provide documents proving the ship’s nationality, prompting the detention.
• President Emmanuel Macron praised the operation and framed it as part of EU sanctions enforcement against Russia’s shadow fleet, which he said finances a large share of the war effort.
• The EU‑ and UK‑listed tanker has a history of opaque ownership, frequent renaming and flag changes, and it was detained in April in Estonia when it sailed as Kiwala under a flag not on that country’s register.
• Media reports say the ship transited near Denmark from September 22 to 25 during unexplained drone sightings, but Danish authorities have not assigned blame and the Kremlin denies involvement.