FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron said he and his fellow European leaders will pursue a “policy of obstruction” against shadow fleet* vessels in European waters, in a departure from the relatively light-touch policies of insurance checks deployed previously.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing — countries pledged to supporting Ukraine’s effort against the Russian invasion — Macron said it was “extremely important to increase pressure on the shadow fleet because it clearly reduces Russia’s ability to fund its war effort”.

His comments come in the wake of a French operation on board Boracay (IMO: 9332810), an 18-year-old aframax currently using the fraudulent Benin flag.

French forces boarded the tanker after it did not answer questions surrounding its nationality. The vessel’s master and chief officer were detained by authorities, with the master summoned to appear in court in February. The chief officer was released without charge.

Macron did not confirm whether the tanker was the launchpad for drones launched into Danish airspace last week, but said the crew had committed “some very serious offences”.

Sanctioned Boracay is now underway again and sailing westwards from France’s Atlantic coast, but Macron said its experience over the past few days was a flavour of what was to come for shadow fleet vessels.

“In the coming days, our chiefs of staff, in coordination with Nato and within the framework of the coalition of the willing, will meet to create joint actions in the coming week,” he told reporters.

Previously, EU nations, as well as Norway and the UK, committed to challenging shadow fleet tankers for insurance details when sailing through their waters. Barring the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, every nation with a Baltic coastline has now committed to checking to insurance checks.

Lloyd’s List reported that the response rate from challenged tankers was above 90% in many cases, though question marks hung over the validity of the insurance certificates produced.

Nevertheless, the checks were called a useful intelligence-gathering exercise which could later inform sanction decisions.

But the temperature rose in May when Estonian forces escorted shadow fleet tanker Jaguar (IMO: 9293002) out of its waters, prompting an incursion into Estonian airspace from a Russian Su-35 fighter jet. Portuguese F-16s were scrambled by Nato in response.

Macron’s comments represent a clear departure from previous light touch tactics and instead signal a move to physical obstruction of what he called “suspicious” vessels.

“You kill the business model by detaining even for days or weeks these vessels and forcing them to organise themselves differently,” he said.

President Putin said there was “there was no reason whatsoever for seizing the tanker in neutral waters”, the Guardian reported.

“It’s piracy, and how do you deal with pirates? You destroy them.

“It doesn’t mean that tomorrow a war will erupt all across the global ocean, but certainly the risk of confrontation will seriously increase,” he said.