Belgian and French military units boarded a ship from the Russian shadow fleet in a joint operation in the North Sea last night and brought it to Zeebrugge. The Belgian Minister of Defense, Theo Francken, let us know.
This concerns the Ethera, a tanker of 183 meters in length for the transport of oil and chemicals, which sailed north in the Belgian part of the North Sea. According to the Belgians, the ship is on the European sanctions list and the flag of Guinea was a false one. As a result, the right to free passage in the so-called Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) expires and the ship could be boarded.
The Ethera was monitored by a drone and stopped shortly after midnight by the Belgian Navy patrol vessel Pollux, after which helicopters from the French and Belgian navies special forces put on board. They took over the ship, after which it was transferred to the port of Zeebruggeen.
Belgian Chief of the Defense Staff, Pilot General Vansina, called the operation “proportionate” and a contribution “to maintaining the international legal order, the security of maritime trade routes and limiting Russian financing for the war of aggression against Ukraine.”
A major blow to the shadow fleet: in the North Sea, our French Navy helicopters helped last night in the boarding by Belgian forces of an oil tanker under international sanctions.
Europeans are determined to cut off the sources of funding for Russia’s war of aggression… pic.twitter.com/CnoxyND7BB
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 1, 2026
‘Political decision’
After France, which boarded two shadow fleet tankers in recent months, Belgium now also appears to be acting more assertively. Defense Minister Francken spoke of “a political decision”.
French President Macron, who posted video footage of the boarding, spoke on X of “a major blow to the shadow fleet.” He said Europe is “determined, through the enforcement of sanctions, to cut off the sources from which Russia finances its war against Ukraine.”
Crude oil sales remain a significant source of revenue for Russia. There are still hundreds of ships in service that Russia is using to circumvent sanctions; often outdated and poorly insured oil tankers without a valid flag state, or with a constantly changing flag. For example, the Ethera previously sailed under the flag of Panama.
The shadow fleet ships also include ships flying a non-counterfeit flag, which simply retain the right of free passage in the EEZ of a European coastal state.
Bill
In January, the Netherlands announced stricter legislation to take stricter action against ships from the Russian shadow fleet flying a false flag. This concerns ‘systematic inspection’ [op zee]the “compulsory diversion to a designated anchorage for inspection” and, “in extreme cases, seizure” of such a ship under a false flag, according to the then ministers of Infrastructure and Water Management and of Foreign Affairs in a letter to the House. A parliamentary majority had asked for stricter legislation in October last year. A bill is expected before the summer.
