French authorities have released the Russian captain of the tanker Tagor while continuing a judicial investigation into the vessel’s registration status and suspected involvement in sanctions-sensitive oil trades.
The captain was freed after approximately one day in custody, allowing investigators to pursue what prosecutors described as a complex and extensive inquiry. Although the captain has been released, the tanker remains under detention in Douarnenez Bay on France’s Atlantic coast.
The vessel was intercepted by the French Navy on 31 May while transiting from Murmansk in northwestern Russia toward Limbe, Cameroon. According to French authorities, the tanker was displaying a Cameroonian flag that investigators believe may have been fraudulent.
Prosecutors allege that the vessel lacked a valid flag registration and that its master failed to comply with instructions issued by French naval authorities during the interception. Under French law, the alleged offences carry penalties of up to one year in prison and fines of €150,000. Similar sanctions could also be imposed on the vessel’s owner once ownership investigations are completed.
The detention marks the fourth seizure by France since September of a vessel suspected of participating in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet – a network of ageing tankers and opaque ownership structures widely believed to facilitate the transport of sanctioned oil cargoes.
French investigators are also examining reports linking MV Tagor to shipping interests associated with Iranian businessman Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani. Open-source sanctions databases and several media reports have identified connections between the vessel and commercial networks allegedly involved in transporting Russian and Iranian crude oil outside conventional trading channels.
Authorities have not disclosed details of the cargo on board, and no formal sanctions violations have yet been proven. However, investigators are examining whether the vessel was engaged in oil transportation activities designed to circumvent international restrictions.
