Overview

• The French Navy intercepted the 244-meter tanker Boracay near Ouessant and directed it toward the coast before releasing it to continue its route.
• Tracking sites showed the vessel, last sailing under Benin’s flag and listed under EU sanctions since February, back underway Thursday night and off La Rochelle on Friday en route to India.
• The Chinese captain was briefly detained and will appear in Brest in February over failure to follow an official instruction, while investigators examine the ship’s nationality documentation.
• President Emmanuel Macron urged a coalition approach to hold shadow-fleet ships for days to undermine their business model during discussions in Copenhagen.
• President Vladimir Putin denounced the action as piracy and threatened retaliation, and any link to recent drone overflights near Denmark remains unconfirmed.