French navy detains tanker Deliver off Sicily over false flag

French naval forces stopped and boarded the tanker Deliver off Sicily, with help from the Royal Navy and the EU's IRINI operation, Maritime Executive reported. The French military said the ship was found to be using a false flag. According to the report, the tanker had claimed Cameroonian registry since January and was sailing from Russia's Primorsk terminal towards Singapore; the EU and UK sanctioned it in 2025 over Russian oil trade. It was escorted to a French anchorage and Marseille's public prosecutor is investigating. USNI News described it as France's fifth such seizure since September 2025, quoting President Emmanuel Macron: "We will not allow the shadow fleet to evade sanctions."

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