French authorities on Tuesday were investigating a Russia-linked shadow fleet vessel suspected of breaking sanctions. The ship was stopped in the Baltic Sea earlier this year.

The Benin-flagged oil tanker Boracay is listed under British and European Union sanctions against Russia. It was previously named Kiwala and detained by the Estonian authorities on April 11.

“Following a suspected offence by the vessel Boracay, a report was made to the relevant public prosecutor’s office in Brest. An investigation is underway,” the French Navy said in a statement to Reuters.

A prosecutor in Brest told the news agency that the investigation was launched after the crew failed to provide evidence of the ship’s flag and ignored orders.

According to the ship-traffic tracking website MarineTraffic, Boracay left the Russian port of Primorsky on September 20 and headed from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea via the Danish Straits, before moving west through the English Channel.

There is speculation that the ship was in the right place in the Danish Straits to serve as a base for launching drones when drones of unknown origin flew over Danish airports last week, disrupting air traffic for several nights.

This translated from Denmark’s TV2 Peter Møller on the Boracay/Pushpa:

“Authorities in France have launched an investigation into the Russian shadow fleet vessel Pushpa, which passed through Danish waters during both the drone incidents at Copenhagen Airport and at military… pic.twitter.com/FIkuKNzDw8

— Michelle Wiese Bockmann (@Michellewb_) September 30, 2025

Britain and the EU imposed separate sanctions on the crudeoil tanker in October 2024 and February 2025.

The EU said the vessel was linked to the transport of Russian crude oil and petroleum products “while practising irregular and high-risk shipping practices”.

Estonia released the Kiwala on April 26 after detaining it for sailing without a valid country flag. An inspection found over 40 deficiencies.

The vessel is part of the so-called shadow fleet of tankers involved in the Russian oil trade that have unknown ownership and insurance and are typically over 20 years old.

The crude oil tanker, built in 2007, is currently at anchor off western France’s Atlantic coast, close to Saint Nazaire.

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