French navy boards sanctioned tanker DF Peak south of Réunion

What happened on 12 October

President Emmanuel Macron said on X that the navy boarded the DF Peak. He said the ship was suspected of sailing under a false flag and of taking part in illicit fuel transport, and posted video that appeared to show troops rappelling onto the vessel. He added: "France is determined to fight the shadow fleet, everywhere in the world." Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin congratulated the personnel involved and said the military was escorting the tanker for further inspections. The prefecture of Réunion, cited by Le Monde, said the operation took place in international waters early on Monday. An examination of documents confirmed doubts about the legitimacy of the flag, and the ship was diverted to an anchorage off Réunion for further checks under the prefect's authority.

French authorities suspect the Benin registration may be invalid or improperly used. Kyiv Post notes that a boarding and escort do not by themselves amount to a final seizure or establish criminal liability. EU measures allow member states, in certain circumstances, to sell oil or other cargo seized from sanctioned vessels.

The ship and its flag

The DF Peak, IMO number 9341067, previously sailed as NS Captain and Kaliningrad and currently claims registration in Benin. It was built in 2006, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Ukraine's War & Sanctions portal lists it as a vessel carrying Russian crude oil and petroleum products, and records occasions when it switched off its automatic identification system. It also lists earlier calls at the Russian ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga.

The US sanctioned the vessel in February 2024 and the EU added it in June 2024, followed by Switzerland, Canada, the UK, Ukraine and Japan. It is one of around 700 vessels covered by EU sanctions on ships suspected of transporting Russian oil.

Western governments say Moscow has increasingly relied on foreign flags, complex ownership structures and changing ship names to keep oil flowing. The DF Peak fits that pattern: it has sailed under several flags, according to Ukrainian intelligence, which links the tanker to Sovcomflot, the state-controlled Russian shipping company.

Moscow calls it piracy

President Vladimir Putin has described attempts to seize or restrict Russian-linked vessels and their cargoes as "piracy and banditry". Russia's embassy in Paris told the state news agency TASS that France was violating international law by detaining merchant vessels on the high seas and was "attempting to cover up piracy by invoking the provisions of the UN Convention". Macron said the operation was conducted in accordance with international maritime law. Vautrin wrote on X: "International law is not optional."

What happens next

No decision on confiscation of the vessel or its cargo has been announced. The 21 crew members, who are of several nationalities, remained on board under the supervision of French military personnel.

France has run similar operations closer to home this year. In June its forces intercepted the tanker Tagor in the Atlantic over its claimed Cameroonian registration, and later that month boarded the tanker Deliver near Sicily. The Réunion boarding took place far from European waters, in the Indian Ocean.

The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air reported on 25 September that detentions had cut the number of shadow fleet ships flying a false flag to less than half between last October and June 2026. The EU has progressively expanded restrictions on vessels accused of helping Russia bypass the bloc's embargoes and price cap on Russian oil.