In France, the captain of a tanker connected with the “shadow fleet” will be tried. Russian Federation
The captain of the Boracay oil tanker seized off the Atlantic coast of France will go on trial in February 2026 on charges that the crew refused to cooperate. reports this AR.
Prosecutor of the French city of Brest, Stephane Kellenberger, said that two members of the Chinese crew – the captain and the senior assistant, detained since Tuesday – were released from police custody. The senior mate was fired without charges being announced. Kellenberger noted that a preliminary investigation has been launched into the crew’s refusal to cooperate. and “inability to confirm the nationality of the vessel”.
He added that the investigation found that the Boracay captain could only be directly held responsible for the first offense. His trial will be held in Brest on February 23, 2026. If found guilty, the tanker captain faces up to one year in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros.
It is known that the Boracay tanker is already under EU and UK sanctions. According to MarineTraffic, it left the Russian port of Primorsk near St. Petersburg on September 20 and was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones appeared near the country’s strategic facilities. The tanker flies under the Benin flag and has been anchored off the Atlantic coast of France, near Saint-Nazaire, for several days.




