Russia Slams France's Detention of Oil Tanker Tagor as Groundless

The justification for the detention by France of the oil tanker Tagor, which is allegedly linked to Russia, is completely groundless, stated the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slavic nation, Maria Zakharova, today.

“The French are justifying their groundless actions by pointing to Article 110 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which allows for the inspection of a vessel on the high seas if it lacks nationality,” Zakharova noted in her commentary regarding the incident.

The claims by French authorities that their actions were carried out in accordance with the norms of international law, the diplomat continued, represent yet another example of “European legal nihilism and the rewriting of rules to suit their own convenience.”

International maritime law permits a warship to detain and, under strictly limited circumstances, inspect a vessel on the high seas. However, international treaties do not provide for the possibility of forcibly altering a ship's route and escorting it from the high seas into the port of the warship's sovereign state, the diplomat explained.

Zakharova reiterated that only sanctions approved by the UN Security Council carry international legal weight, adding that “the illegal, unilateral restrictive measures adopted by Europeans can only become 'international' within the imagination of the French-British pirate tandem.”

“We draw the attention of our European colleagues to the fact that vessels operating in their interest frequently sail under flags of convenience. The extension of the French struggle against such vessels into high-seas spaces, where the freedom of navigation rules, could ultimately cost global merchant shipping dearly,” the spokesperson warned.

Zakharova added that the Russian Embassy in France has demanded full information from Paris regarding the circumstances surrounding the detention and is taking active measures to safeguard the Russian crew members of the Tagor.

On Monday, the French Atlantic Maritime Prefecture announced that national navy vessels had boarded an oil tanker on the high seas, more than 400 nautical miles west of Brittany in international waters of the Northeast Atlantic. The vessel, which departed from the Russian port of Murmansk, was suspected of utilizing a false flag, prompting authorities to alter its course and escort it to an anchorage for verification.

French President Emmanuel Macron identified the seized tanker as the Tagor and clarified that the operation was executed “with the support of several partners, particularly the United Kingdom, in strict accordance with the law of the sea.”

The head of state described it as unacceptable for vessels to evade international sanctions and assist Russia in financing its military operations against Ukraine. Furthermore, Macron asserted that these types of ships “represent a threat to the environment and to the safety of everyone.”

The European Union accuses Russia of deploying a so-called shadow fleet to bypass restrictions imposed on its oil exports. Conversely, Russia maintains that the seizure of such vessels by the EU is unacceptable, constituting a severe violation of both the letter and the spirit of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.