Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken announced that his country’s navy boarded and diverted a vessel believed to be part of Russia‘s illicit shadow fleet of oil tankers on Sunday.
Francken said the ship was being taken to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, where it would be officially seized by Belgian authorities.
What do we know about Brussel’s capture of the Russia fleet tanker?
Francken said the tanker Ethera, captured Sunday by Belgian and French forces, was suspected of sailing under “false flag and false documents.”
“Over the past few hours, our armed forces, with the support of the French Defense, have boarded an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet,” Francken wrote in an early morning post on X.
“The vessel is currently being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also posted a video of naval forces commandeering the Ethera in the North Sea, calling the successful operation a “major blow” to Russia’s shadow fleet.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the seizure.
“We welcome this strong action against Moscow’s floating purse and thank France for supporting the operation,” he wrote on X.
What is Russia’s so-called shadow fleet?
Russia has systematically operated a clandestine network of usually rickety older tankers with no clear documentation of ownership to evade international sanctions and export crude oil to nations willing to buy its discounted contraband, propping up its Ukraine invasion as its economy melts.
“Without his shadow fleet Putin can’t wage war against innocent Ukrainians. So we take these vessels out. One by one. Until his war of aggression stops,” Francken wrote, adding that Belgium takes its responsibilities to this end seriously.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever also took to X to congratulate the armed forces for “the successful operation last night.” He thanked France in the post, adding that Belgium would, “uphold international maritime law and the security of its territorial waters.”
Belgium recently faced criticism from EU partners after it opposed the seizure of Russian assets held frozen in Europe to finance loans to Ukraine.
De Wever justified his opposition by citing grave concerns over the potential legal and financial consequences facing Belgium should the assets — the largest portion of which (€180 billion, $213 billion) are held in the country — be seized.
Edited by: Rana Taha