On Saturday night a combined operation of the Belgian and French military (see here and here) saw the seizure of the sanctioned “shadow fleet” tanker the Ethera in the North Sea.
The tanker has since been brought to Zeebrugge .
It is being reported that a criminal investigation has been opened, and it is alleged that the vessel was falsely claiming to have a Guinea flag.
The vessel’s captain, reported as a Russian national, has been questioned.
Further to our earlier post on the French seizure of the “shadow fleet” tanker “Boracay” off western France in September 2025, it is now being reported that the trial of the captain is due to commence on Monday.
The trial is taking place in absentia, with the captain Chen Zhangjie – a Chinese national – not attending the trial in the town of Brest.
The charges allege that the Captain refused to comply with a lawful order from the French Navy to allow the inspection of the vessel.
Mr Zhangjie is represented in the trial, and it is being reported that the defence will include arguments that French law and French jurisdiction do not apply.
The company that owns the oil tanker ‘Grinch’ has, according to a press release by the Prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône pleaded guilty in a Marseilles court.
It is being reported that the company was fined several million euros.
The vessel has been allowed to leave French waters with its cargo intact.
The offence alleged was failing to provide proof of the ship’s flag status under article L 5233-2 of the French Transport Code.
After seizing the oil tanker the “Grinch” in international waters last week, the vessel is now anchored off Foss-sur-Mer in the south of France.
The captain of the vessel, an Indian national, has been detained by the French authorities pending further investigations. It is being reported that one part of the investigation being conducted by the Maritime Gendarmerie’s Investigation Unit in Toulon and the Marseille Ship Safety Centre, is charges of failure to fly a valid flag.
Further to our earlier post from October 2025, this is not the first such seizure, with the French authorities seizing the vessel the Boracay off the west coast of France. In that case the vessel was allowed to depart and the captain was released without charge,
The European anti-fraud agency OLAF has issued a press release on an investigation it has coordinated into the export of 766 transport vehicles to Russia despite the exporters claiming they were destined for one of Türkiye, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova.
The investigation first arose after a report by the Polish authorities, with OLAF then tracking each individual vehicle to determine that it had been exported to Russia.
The press release notes that “OLAF’s findings led to criminal investigations in three different Member States”, but no further information is given on which member states or the current progress of those investigations.
The press release also thanks the various countries which were labelled as the destination for the trucks in providing assistance in confirming that the vehicles never arrived.
Last week the German authorities ordered the vessel Tavian not to enter German territorial waters after inspection of the ship’s papers resulted in a finding that the vessel was sailing under a false flag and with a fake IMO number, and a suspicion that the tanker was being used to ship Russian oil.
The vessel complied with the order and turned around before returning to the North Sea and turning off its transponder.
Other reports include a comment from the Bundespolizei that they could not comment on an “ongoing operational procedure”.
Polish authorities have charged an individual after attempting to import an inflatable vessel into Poland from Belarus.
The individual is a Belarusian national, and the inflatable craft was identified by Polish customs at the Terespol border checkpoint.
After a Russian vessel had engine trouble and entered Swedish territorial waters, Swedish Customs boarded the vessel and commenced an investigation into whether possible sanctions or export control offences may have been committed.
The vessel, the Adler, is designated under EU sanctions, and the owner sanctioned by the US. It is reported that the cargo included arms and military equipment.
It is now being reported that the vessel has been allowed to depart Swedish waters, after the Prosecutor’s Office declined to open a criminal investigation, on the basis that there was no intent to bring the vessel or its goods into Sweden.
It is being reported that the Munich Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a number of businesses suspected of exporting 50 luxury cars to Russia in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
The cars are said to be valued at €10 million, including one car fitted with armour valued at €650,000.
The report alleges that the exports were done via third countries including Kazakhstan.
Further to our earlier post, the prosecution trial of Damen Shipping has commenced in the Netherlands.
The company has denied the allegations, which include that it falsified customs declarations to enable the export of 14 deck cranes to Russia during 2022 in breach of the EU’s sanctions.
Senior management have also been charged with sanctions offences.
The trial includes charges of bribery against Damen.
