French authorities have released the oil tanker Grinch after its ownership paid a substantial financial penalty, concluding a three-week detention near Marseille. The vessel, sailing under a Comoros flag but originating from Murmansk in northern Russia, was intercepted by French naval forces in the Mediterranean in January as part of intensified efforts to combat Russia’s sanctions evasion network.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed the tanker’s release on Tuesday, emphasizing that circumventing European sanctions now carries significant consequences. ‘Russia will no longer be able to finance its war with impunity through a ghost fleet off our coasts,’ Barrot stated in a social media post, referencing Moscow’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The Marseille judicial court administered the penalty through a guilty plea procedure, though the precise fine amount remains undisclosed. Officials described it as ‘several million euros’ in value. The tanker had been immobilized at Fos-sur-Mer port during the legal proceedings, incurring additional operational costs for its operators.
This incident highlights the expanding challenge of shadow fleets—clandestine networks of aging tankers with obscure ownership structures deliberately designed to bypass Western sanctions on Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil exports. Monitoring groups estimate this covert fleet has grown to approximately 1,468 vessels, nearly triple its size since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The French action aligns with recent multinational efforts to enforce energy sanctions. In January, British armed forces supported a U.S. operation to seize another Russian-flagged tanker in the Atlantic for similar violations, though Moscow continues to denounce such interventions as unlawful acts against properly registered vessels.