France’s crackdown on Russia’s 'shadow fleet' stepped up on Monday as prosecutors in the Breton port city of Brest demanded a one‑year prison sentence and a 150,000‑euro fine against the Chinese captain of the oil tanker Boracay for failing to comply with French Navy orders.
Issued on: 24/02/2026 - RFI
Jan van der Made
Chen Zhangjie, a 39-year-old ship captain, went on trial in Brest, north‑western France, on Monday for allegedly failing to obey orders from law enforcement when his ship, the Boracay, was intercepted by the French Navy last September. Chen did not attend the hearing in person but was represented by his lawyer, Henri de Richemont of the Richemont-Delviso law firm.
The case comes amid France’s intensified campaign to prevent sanctioned oil tankers from operating off its coast. In recent months, French authorities have seized two such vessels — the Boracay and the Grinch.
The Boracay, which has repeatedly changed name and flag, was suspected of belonging to the network of tankers used to move Russian oil in breach of Western sanctions.
On 27 September 2025, a French frigate requested permission to board the Boracay in international waters off western France to verify its flag status. The tanker was carrying Russian crude reportedly worth around $100 million, bound for India.
French authorities had already been alerted by Benin that no tanker of that name was registered under its flag.
According to statements read out in court, Chen initially told the French Navy that the ship sailed under the Benin flag, but explained during police custody that the flag had not been flown because it was raining.
The prosecution described a pattern of “deliberate obstruction” and argued that the captain had delayed the boarding under the pretext of waiting for instructions from the Hong Kong‑registered shipowner.
Possible Wagner links
French naval commandos eventually boarded the Boracay without resistance from the 26‑strong crew. Among those on board were two Russian nationals employed by Moran Security Group, a Russian private security company which, according to French and European intelligence sources, provides protection teams to dozens of tankers in Russia’s shadow fleet.
One source – quoted by French press agency AFP – identified the “security crew” as Aleksander T. and Maksim D., adding that the latter was a former police officer who had worked for Russian mercenary group Wagner.
According to a “conformance certificate” published on the group’s website, it provides “maritime security, including armed security of the merchant fleet, vessels’ escorting, protection of sea ports” and other services. The certificate lists the group’s address in Belize, while it is certified by the “Russian Federal Agency of Technical Regulation and Metrology” based in Moscow.
In his statement, Chen said that he did not know what the two Russians were doing on the vessel and said it was “not common” to have such personnel on board.
He also indicated that Russian security staff had already been present during a previous voyage in July. The two men disembarked in Suez several days after the French boarding.
French prosecutors limited the case to the captain’s refusal to comply with orders. Allegations that the Boracay may have been linked to drone overflights near Danish airports in 2025 were not part of the charges, and no direct evidence has been made public to support that suspicion.
The judgment comes as the European Union is preparing a 20th package of sanctions against Russia, including measures aimed at tankers and maritime services that help Moscow export oil despite restrictions. France, which has already intercepted several suspected shadow‑fleet vessels in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, is pushing for a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil.
The Boracay now sails under the Russian flag as the Phoenix and was recently reported at anchor near the port of Rizhao in northeastern China.
The final decision of the court in Brest is expected on 30 March.
(With newswires)
France Starts Trial of Shadow Tanker Captain Charged with Disobeying Orders
A French court in Brest was due to begin the trial in absentia of the Chinese captain aboard the sanctioned shadow fleet tanker Boracay. France detailed the vessel in September 2025 to investigate its registration, and they allege the captain “failed to obey” orders from the French troops sent to interdict the vessel.
The tanker has been linked to shadow fleet operations dating back to 2022, and reports indicate it has made numerous trips between the Russian oil terminal at Primorsk and China. The UK sanctioned the ship in October 2024, and the EU followed in February 2025.
The ship has had a shadowy history of multiple names and reported flags, which led to Estonia detaining the tanker in May 2025 when it was identifying as the Kiwala. It was claiming a registry in Djibouti, which the Estonians said could not be confirmed. Djibouti, however, said it would give the ship a temporary flag to provide it time to find a new registry. Estonia also conducted a port state inspection, reporting 40 deficiencies.
In September, it showed up at the Russian terminal using the name Pushpa and claiming to be registered in Benin. There were also reports linking the tanker around the same time as one of three suspects in an incident with drones flying over Copenhagen Airport.
The French authorities stopped the ship off the coast near Saint Nazaire and ordered the ship to anchor. It ultimately complied, but France took that captain and first officer into custody and changed that they had not obeyed orders. The captain was ordered to stand trial, which was starting on February 23.
As the trial was due to start, Agence France Presse (AFP) is reporting that French authorities had discovered two Russians aboard the tanker when it was searched in September. One of them is reported to be a former police officer who had also worked for the notorious Wagner mercenary group. Both of them were working for the Moran Security Group, which AFP reports was started by former officers of Russia’s FSB security service.
Lawyers for the Chinese ship captain confirmed to AFP that the two Russians were on the tanker, saying they “represented the cargo.” The report also quotes sources that the two “security guards” were there to protect the vessel and ensure the captain followed orders “given in line with Russian interests.” There are also claims that they were gathering “intelligence.”
AFP reports that the lawyers were planning to challenge France’s jurisdiction to stop the tanker and detain the captain, a Chinese national named Chen Zhangjue. He will not be present in the court. They are claiming the ship was in international waters, and as such, the UN establishes jurisdiction as either the captain’s home country or the ship’s flag state.
As the Boracay/Pushpa likely did not have a flag state, the situation is further complicated. The ship had also previously claimed Gambia and Malawi. After claiming Benin, it is now shown as registered in Russia.
France released the ship after a few days, and it reappeared in 2026 using the name Phoenix or Feniks. Its registered owners are shown as a company in the Seychelles. The last AIS signal shows the tanker having arrived in China after another trip from Russia.
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