Italian warship boards EU-sanctioned tanker Toa Payoh off Pantelleria

An Italian Navy team operating under the EU's Operation IRINI boarded the tanker Toa Payoh on 2 August in international waters west of Pantelleria, Naval News reports. The vessel, which declared a Cameroonian flag and is listed under EU sanctions as part of Russia's shadow fleet, had left Cotonou in Benin on 16 July bound for Istanbul. Personnel from ITS Thaon di Revel were inserted by helicopter, supported by a Greek frigate and a Polish patrol aircraft. The inspection, justified under Article 110 of UNCLOS on suspicion over the flag's legitimacy, lasted about two hours without incident. No seizure followed; documents were gathered for national authorities to examine.

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