Further to our earlier posts (here and here) regarding the tanker boardings by the EU’s operation EUNAVFOR MED Irini, it is being reported that yesterday the same EU operation has boarded the sanctioned tanker MV Sun south of Sicily.
The boarding was conducted by an Italian naval vessel on behalf of the EU operation.
The inspection was to verify and determine the flag status of the vessel, and the vessel does not appear to have been detained.
Further to our earlier post, it is being reported that, on Sunday 2 August, the EU’s operation EUNAVFOR MED Irini has boarded another tanker, the Toa Payoh, off Sicily. The vessel was sailing from Benin to Istanbul.
The boarding was to determine and investigate the flag status of the vessel which was claiming to have recently switched to a Cameroonian flag.
The vessel was not seized or detained as part of the operation.
It is being reported that on 20 July, the EU’s Mediterranean naval taskforce IRINI boarded the Turkish-owned oil tanker, the South Star, in order to assess and investigate its flag status. Under a different name the vessel had been designated by both the EU and the UK in 2025.
The report states that there was uncertainty over the vessel’s flag status as between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
The vessel was allowed to proceed after the boarding and inspection.
The same reporting refers to IRINI’s published information which says that it had conducted three earlier flag verification boardings during the month of June.
