French soldiers boarded a tanker from the so-called Russian „phantom fleet,” which was immobilized off the French coast and is suspected of involvement in the appearance of drones in Denmark, the France Presse agency reported on Wednesday.
The soldiers, wearing standard uniforms and balaclavas, patrolled the ship’s deck on Wednesday afternoon, noticing a photographer and a journalist from the agency who flew over the vessel.
The tanker was „seized last Saturday” by French authorities, and a „boarding team went on board,” a military source told France Presse.
The crew of this tanker has committed "very serious mistakes," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, after French justice opened an investigation against the ship, accusing it of "failure to present proof of nationality/flag" and "refusal to comply" with authorities' requests.
This tanker, currently sailing under the flag of the African state of Benin, has changed its flag and name several times (currently "Pushpa" or "Boracay") and is on the European sanctions list.
The ship is also suspected of involvement in the recent mysterious appearances of drones near airports and military bases in Denmark. The specialized website The Maritime Executive suggests that this tanker could have served as a "launch platform" for drones from the Baltic Sea or as a "lure."
Asked on Wednesday about these drone accusations, the French president nevertheless urged "caution" in statements to the press before a European summit in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
Although the origin of those drones and who operated them has not yet been elucidated, Denmark rushed to accuse Russia, and the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, called for a "very strong response" from Europe to the "hybrid war" waged by Russia at the beginning of the summit.
The latter warned on Wednesday that she will take the necessary military measures to ensure the security of its commercial navigation in the Baltic Sea following European "challenges" related to Russian tankers, as reported by the EFE agency.
"In various waters, including the Baltic Sea, European countries and coastal states resort to numerous challenges, which, in our opinion, do not favor commercial navigation freedom at all," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after being asked at his daily press conference about the case of the Russian tanker detained by France. "Sometimes, this forces our armed forces to take measures to restore order," the Russian official added.