TAGOR
Latest ports
Latest Waypoints
Latest news
Tanker fined for flying false flag
French prosecutors and the Maritime Court in Brest accepted a plea deal, which will fine and release the 'Tagor'. Reports indicated a total fine of €1 million ($1.1 million) for the vessel and a pledge from the vessel’s owners to seek a legitimate flag for the ship. The fines for vessels have become a common tactic as part of a French campaign, which President Emmanuel Macron said would delay the vessels and disrupt their finances. The 'Tagor' was coming from Murmansk, according to the reports, when it was boarded on suspicion of sailing without a legitimate flag. French troops inspected the vessel and ordered it to head to the French coast. The tanker had been previously sanctioned by the UK, EU, and U.S. for its involvement in the Russian oil trade. Records show the vessel as sailing since July 2025, first claiming a flag in Guinea, then Madagascar, and then Cameroon. Each was listed as false. The owner of the vessel, which was listed as being based in Abu Dhabi, reportedly admitted guilt as part of the plea deal. The tanker has since left and headed towards Istanbul with an ETA as of July 14. The 'Tagor' was the fourth crude oil tanker that France has stopped since it started the efforts in September 2025. Each has been fined and released, although the French courts also tried the Chinese master of the first vessel in absentia. The others each paid fines. France was still holding a fifth shadow fleet tanker, the 'Discover', which was interdicted last week.
Cameroon condemned fraudulent use of its flag by Russian shadow tanker
While the 'Tagor', presented as a vessel belonging to the Russian shadow fleet and intercepted by the French Navy in the Atlantic, remained at anchor in Douarnenez Bay, in a statement released on June 8, the French Minister of Transport reiterated that thorough checks had confirmed that the vessel did not appear in any of the official registers of ships authorized to fly the Cameroonian flag. The Cameroon minister Yaoundé thereupon strongly condemned the fraudulent use of its flag and abusive use of the attributes of Cameroonian nationality" and called on "the international community to take drastic measures against these increasingly frequent abuses in this sector." In February and May 2026, similar statements had already been issued by the Cameroonian government denouncing these practices. Yaoundé reiterated its commitment to combat maritime fraud, in accordance with its international obligations "in matters of maritime safety, security and governance" and recalled that the country continued "the process of cleaning up and modernising its flag state".
Russia demands release of shadow tanker
Russia was demanding on June 3 that France release the captain of the 'Tagor', detained on what it said were false charges. The Russian embassy in Paris said that French authorities had informed Moscow that the vessel’s captain, a Russian national, had been detained on what it described as “trumped-up” charges: “The Embassy has once again contacted the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding immediate consular access to the Russian citizen and his prompt release.” Russia rejected the “shadow fleet” label, saying its oil shipments were legitimate, and has condemned Western attempts to intercept tankers as illegal and akin to piracy, warning it reserves the right to take steps to protect its own shipping.
Upload News