French and British Navies Seize a Russia-Linked Tanker, and Moscow Calls It Piracy

The French navy, with British support, intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker sailing from the northwestern Russian port of Murmansk, France said. President Emmanuel Macron announced the seizure, which took place in international waters in the Atlantic, more than 400 nautical miles west of France. Authorities said the vessel was suspected of operating under a false flag, and the navy is escorting it for further checks. It was the fourth such French boarding since September of ships believed to belong to Russia's shadow fleet, the network of aging tankers that moves oil outside Western insurance and sanctions rules.

Moscow rejected the action. The Kremlin spokesman, in remarks carried by Iran's state news agency IRNA, called the seizure a violation of international law and equivalent to maritime piracy. Russia argues that interdictions on the high seas exceed the legal authority of the states carrying them out.

The interception is part of a broader European effort to raise the cost of the trade that funds Moscow's budget, and a test of how far navies can go against vessels that avoid Western ports and services entirely.