00:00The detained oil tanker Tagore arrived in the bay of Douarnenez in western France on
00:05Tuesday under the escort of the French Navy.
00:08It was intercepted and seized with the support of the United Kingdom in international waters
00:13of the coast of Brittany on Sunday on suspicion of being part of the Russian Shadow Fleet.
00:19Sailing under a false Cameroonian flag, the ship's Russian captain initially refused
00:23orders to stop, prompting a boarding operation that the Kremlin has described as an act of
00:28international piracy.
00:31Databases have linked the vessel to the wider shipping network of Iranian oil trader Mohamed
00:35Hussein Shemkani, one of the most prominent figures accused of facilitating both Russian
00:40and Iranian oil exports.
00:43Sanctioned by the European Union in 2025, Shemkani, the son of former Iranian national security
00:48chief Ali Shemkani, has built a vast network of shipping and logistics companies operating
00:54primarily from the United Arab Emirates.
00:56Shadow Fleet vessels are typically characterized by opaque ownership structures, frequent changes
01:02of flag registration, ship-to-ship cargo transfers, and limited insurance coverage.
01:07It is the first such tanker detained by France since September 2024 and a further result of
01:13France's efforts to crackdown on vessels suspected of helping Russia evade sanctions imposed following
01:19Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
01:21According to the European Union, nearly 600 vessels linked to Russia are now subject to sanctions.
01:28Russia's effort on its sought-in deal in Russian refugees
01:30Russia pesters extremely
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