EU authorizes detention of suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tankers

EU member states have authorized naval vessels operating in the Mediterranean under Operation IRINI to detain foreign tankers suspected of transporting Russian oil as part of what Brussels describes as the “shadow fleet,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said upon arriving at an informal meeting of EU defence ministers, TASS reports.

“We will also discuss the shadow fleet. Our operation IRINI has changed the rules of engagement and has now started to board the ships as well, so the idea is to change the best practices that different countries [of the EU] are doing with those ships,” she said, stressing that the main objective of the measure is to “curb Russia from funding” its military operation in Ukraine.

The updated mandate marks an expansion of the operational scope of EU naval activity in the Mediterranean, allowing for more direct action against vessels suspected of involvement in sanctioned oil transport networks.

Operation IRINI was launched by the EU in the Mediterranean in 2020 to inspect commercial vessels and prevent illegal arms shipments to Libya. According to the report, the mission did not succeed in achieving that objective.

By Vafa Guliyeva