France is to double penalties for ships that fail to fly a flag or refuse to comply, a draft law showed Wednesday, in what an informed source said was a bid to strengthen measures against Russia’s “shadow fleet”.
The move comes as France has, since September, boarded three ships suspected of being part of the fleet transporting Russian oil in violation of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
Vessels in the “shadow fleet” frequently change the flags they fly, a practice known as flag-hopping, and sometimes sail under invalid flags in an attempt to escape detection and tracking.
France will now punish those who fail to fly the correct flag or refuse to comply with orders to stop the ship with up to two years in prison and a fine of €300,000 ($351,000), according to a draft update to France’s military planning law seen by AFP on Wednesday.
That would double the current penalties in place, with sanctions applying to any person — such as the owner, operator, or legally responsible individual — who exercises “power of control or management” over the vessel’s operation, it said.
Possible sentences may increase to seven years in prison and a fine of €700,000 should the lives of the individuals boarding the vessel be put at risk.
Parliament is set to debate the draft bill that includes these measures, and then vote on adopting it by July 14th.
A source with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity, said the toughened measures aimed to ramp up the fight against Russia’s “shadow fleet”.
They follow a French court ruling last month issuing a one-year jail sentence in absentia and arrest warrant against the Chinese captain of a tanker for failing to comply with orders to stop his ship last year.
The French navy had approached the ship, the “Boracay”, in international waters off western France in September over suspicions it was transporting Russian oil to India, without a visible flag.
The captain stalled any boarding, saying he was waiting for authorisation from the ship’s owner, until the navy eventually boarded.
Nearly 600 vessels suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” are subject to European Union sanctions.
