Stateless shadow fleet tanker seized by French and Belgian forces in North Sea
- Belgian special forces seize sanctioned, falsely flagged shadow fleet tanker Ethera in the country’s exclusive economic zone
- Operation Blue Intruder saw multiple EU states support the operation in a significant step towards shadow fleet interdictions
- Ethera sanctioned by UK, EU and US
European states have signalled a more aggressive stance towards shadow fleet operations by seizing a stateless tanker that has performed multiple sanctioned voyages through European waters over the past few years
BELGIUM’S special forces boarded and seized a fraudulently flagged, sanctioned shadow fleet* tanker that was headed to load in Russia on Sunday.
The ship, which has been identified as Ethera (IMO: 9387279), a 2007-built product tanker that had been fraudulently using the flag of Guinea, was intercepted in Belgium’s exclusive economic zone.
Ethera has been escorted to the port of Zeebrugge.
The operation was conducted as part of an international task force, with Group of Seven, Nordic and Baltic partners working alongside Belgium.
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken later revealed that “Operation Blue Intruder” had been carried out with the direct support of the French navy.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on X that French naval forces assisted in the operation, calling it a “major blow” to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”.
Ethera was sanctioned by the UK government earlier this month for its involvement in Russian sanctioned trading, however it has been subject to EU and US sanctions since 2025.
In the case of the US Treasury designation imposed in July last year, the sanctions relate to Ethera’s involvement in sanctioned Iranian trades.
“Sanctions only matter if they are enforced. Today, we enforced them,” Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, who is also Belgium’s deputy prime minister, said on X.
