US EditionFrance Hands Captain of Suspected Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker One-Year Jail Sentence
The French court fined Chen Zhangjie €150,000 and sentenced him to one year for evading orders during a French navy boarding linked to sanctions-evasion by a Russian shadow fleet tanker.
- On Monday, March 30, 2026, a French court in Brest sentenced Chinese captain Chen Zhangjie, 39, to one year in prison for "failing to comply with orders" when the French navy intercepted his vessel, the Boracay, in September.
- Investigators suspect the Boracay is part of a Russian "shadow fleet" used to transport oil in violation of Western sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The European Union has blacklisted 598 vessels suspected of participating in such operations.
- French navy officials discovered two employees of a Russian private security company on board during the September seizure, allegedly tasked with representing Russian interests and gathering intelligence. This detail underscores the operation's suspected scope.
- The court imposed a €150,000 fine on Chen, though his lawyer, Henri de Richemont, called the ruling "absolutely incomprehensible" and disputed the court's authority over international waters.
- Now operating as The Phoenix and located in the Strait of Malacca, the vessel remains linked to European security concerns including unexplained drone flights over Denmark last year and ongoing maritime sanctions enforcement efforts.
29 Articles
29 Articles
On Monday, the Brest Correctional Court sentenced the commander of the Boracay, an oil tanker of the Russian phantom fleet arrested in September off Brittany. Chen Zhangje, a Chinese national, was absent at the hearing while an arrest warrant was issued against him. His lawyer has already announced to appeal and denounces a conviction "absolutely incomprehensible". - Russian phantom fleet: the commander of the tanker arrested off Brittany senten…
A French court sentenced the captain of the oil tanker "Boracay" in absentia to one year in prison. The ship is said to belong to the Russian shadow fleet.
A court in France has imposed a prison and fine on the captain of a Russian shadow fleet tanker. Possibly, drones also rose from his ship towards Denmark.
French Court Sentences Russia-Linked Tanker Captain to 1 Year in Jail
A French court Monday issued an arrest warrant and a one-year jail sentence against the Chinese captain of a suspected Russian "shadow fleet" tanker over failing to comply with orders to stop his ship.
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