Lực lượng EU bắt giữ tàu chở dầu tình nghi thuộc hạm đội bóng tối của Nga: Kallas

European Union forces boarded a suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean earlier this week, according to Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief.

Troops from the bloc's Operation Irini boarded the MV Midag tanker on Friday and confirmed that the vessel was sailing under a false flag, Kallas said in a post on social media on Sunday.

"The EU will keep disrupting Russia’s shadow fleet at sea and through diplomatic means," she wrote, adding that EU foreign ministers were set to approve new sanctions against Russia on Monday, targeting "banks, buyers and companies supporting the shadow fleet."

Kallas also shared images appearing to show the boarding.

Russia uses its shadow fleet to evade Western sanctions on its oil industry. The shadow fleet gets around these restrictions by utilising complex ownership structures, flags of convenience and other tactics designed to mask the origin of its cargo.

In August, Operation Irini forces carried out a flag verification boarding of the MV Sun oil tanker.

A similar mission also took place earlier in the month targeting the MV Toa Payoh ship.

Operation Irini was launched in March 2020 and was tasked with enforcing an UN arms embargo on Libya due to the Second Libyan Civil War.

Its original mandate was to counter illegal arms trafficking, gather information on oil smuggling, help disrupt human smuggling and train Libyan institutions responsible for law enforcement and search and rescue operations.

In October, Operation Irini's mandate was renewed through to 31 March 2029, with its objectives to include safeguarding the EU's interests in the Mediterranean and continuing to contribute to peace and stability in Libya.

One of its new responsibilities is also to help "constrain" Russia's shadow fleet, which it says uses the Mediterranean as a "key transit and transfer area."