The silhouette of a French navy boat surrounding the GRINCH oil tanker, intercepted by France in the Alboran Sea on suspicion of operating under a false flag and belonging to Russia's shadow fleet that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions, and diverted to the port of Marseille-Fos, in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, near Martigues, France, January 25, 2026. REUTERS/Manon Cruz
By Marc Leras and Inti Landauro
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – French authorities have let the seized oil tanker GRINCH leave territorial waters after the company owning the vessel had to pay a penalty worth “several million euros,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.
“Circumventing European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to finance its war with impunity through a ghost fleet off our coasts,” Barrot said in a post on X.
The vessel named GRINCH was seized in the Mediterranean on last month, and then diverted to anchor off the French port city of Marseille, on suspicion of being part of the shadow fleet that lets Russia export oil despite sanctions.
The vessel had left the Russian port of Murmansk in early January, sailing under a Comoros flag, French authorities have said.
The company owning the ship was ordered to pay the penalty for not being able to justify its flag, French authorities added in a statement.
Reporting by Marc Leras and Inti Landauro; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.
This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.
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