HMM: France Probing Russia-linked Tanker For ‘Serious Offences.’

French authorities have opened a probe into the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel anchored off France’s Atlantic Coast that has been blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet”.

“There were some very serious offences committed by this crew, which justify the current judicial procedure,” Macron told reporters at an EU leaders’ summit in Copenhagen.

Built in 2007 and variously known as Pushpa and Kiwala, the Boracay has been anchored off Saint-Nazaire in western France for several days.

According to the specialist website The Maritime Executive, the vessel is suspected of being involved in mystery drone flights that disrupted air traffic in Denmark in September.

The publication said the tanker and other ships could have been used either as launch platforms or as decoys.

Developing…