French court hands down sentence to captain of seized Russian tanker

The Chinese captain of the Russian tanker Boracay, seized last year by the French navy off the coast of Brittany, was sentenced on Monday to one year in prison for refusing to follow orders, as reported by Le Figaro.

The 39-year-old Chen Zhangjie was also fined €150,000. A warrant was issued for his arrest, as the captain was not present at the reading of the verdict.

According to the prosecution, Chen showed “particular hostility,” which forced French servicemen to carry out “a dangerous manoeuvre that could have led to an accident.”

The incident occurred on September 27, 2025, when the navy attempted to inspect the 244-meter vessel, sailing under a false flag of Benin in international waters near Ushant Island.

The ship was carrying personnel from a Russian private security company. The captain’s lawyer insisted that Chen should not be tried in France, since the incident took place in international waters and should fall under Chinese jurisdiction.

The tanker, now carrying Russian oil, sails under the Russian flag as Phoenix.