French Navy Seizes Sanctions-Evading Oil Tanker

French naval forces seized a Mozambican-flagged oil tanker suspected of evading international sanctions in the western Mediterranean on Friday, with support from British patrol vessels that provided tracking intelligence.

The operation targeted the Deyna, an 816-foot vessel built in 2005, which had departed from the Russian port of Murmansk and was en route to Port Said, Egypt. Authorities intercepted the ship near the Strait of Gibraltar after raising concerns about its registration and activities. A Western military source confirmed the tanker was carrying Russian crude oil, and local officials noted suspicions that it was operating under a false flag, a common method used to obscure ownership and bypass restrictions.

The French Navy boarded the Deyna in coordination with allies, including the United Kingdom. Britain's HMS Cutlass, a 62-foot patrol boat from the Gibraltar Squadron crewed by six personnel, shadowed the vessel through the strait, gathered imagery and relayed location data to French forces. Helicopters assisted in the boarding, but no British personnel took part directly. Following the action, the tanker was escorted to an anchorage for further inspection, with...