European Union naval forces have boarded the chemical and oil products tanker South Star as part of efforts to crack down on Russia’s shadow fleet and enforce international maritime law.
The boarding was carried out on 20 July by EUNAVFOR MED Operation IRINI after suspecting it was sailing under a false flag. According to EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, inspectors checked the ship’s flag state under powers granted to the mission earlier this year through Article 110 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The operation is one of the first carried out under IRINI’s expanded mandate, adopted in March 2026, which allows the mission to inspect vessels suspected of using fraudulent registration to evade sanctions. Kallas also said EU member states have authorised Operation ATALANTA to carry out similar inspections, expanding enforcement beyond the Mediterranean.
MV South Star is a 39,817-dwt chemical and oil products tanker built in 2004. It currently sails under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, although authorities suspect the registration is fraudulent. The vessel has previously operated under the flags of Cyprus, Singapore, the Marshall Islands and Cameroon and has traded under several names, including Mount Rainier, Hafnia Rainier, Beks Blue and Seal .
The tanker is sanctioned by the European Union for transporting Russian crude oil and petroleum products. It has been linked to repeated exports from the Russian ports of Tuapse and Novorossiysk, suspected AIS manipulation, dark fleet operations near the Kerch Strait, and ship-to-ship oil transfers in the eastern Mediterranean involving other sanctioned tankers.
The boarding highlights the EU’s growing focus on enforcing sanctions against vessels suspected of hiding their identity or ownership while supporting Russian oil exports.
