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EU forces intercepted tanker for suspected false flag
On July 20, 2026, EU forces intercepted and boarded the sanctioned 'South Star' in the western Mediterranean Sea because, they suspected the vessel was sailing under a false flag in violation of international maritime law. The databases listed the ship as operating under the flag of Cameroon, which was listed as false. The tanker had entered the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar on July 16. Four days later, while transiting international waters southeast of Sicily, it was intercepted. The Italian Navy’s multipurpose patrol ship ITS 'Thaon di Revel (P430)', supported by its embarked NH90 helicopter, carried out the boarding of the tanker southeast of Sicily. The inspection, conducted under Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, aimed to verify the ship’s flag after suspicions that it was operating under a false registry, a practice often associated with Russia’s shadow fleet. After the forces boarded the vessel, they inspected its documents, and collected relevant information for assessment and reporting to the EU authorities. The 'South Star' was permitted to proceed after the boarding, and docked at Rade on July 22. As of June, the ship had moved its registry to Equatorial Guinea. The tanker was searched by forces from the EU’s Operation IRINI to verify its flag. The move was aimed at increasing pressure on the Russian shadow fleet. The vessel appeared to have been shuttling Russian oil products from the Black Sea to North Africa and was sanctioned under a previous name in 2025 by the UK and EU for its involvement in illegal ship-to-ship transfers. IRINI was assigned as of March the right of visit for flag verification, operating under Article 110 of the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Report with photos: https://maritime-executive.com/article/eu-inspects-sanctioned-tanker-as-it-increases-pressure-on-shadow-fleet
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