{"id":4245,"date":"2026-03-01T17:46:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T17:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/4245\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T17:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T17:46:19","slug":"dramatic-moment-putins-shadow-fleet-tanker-is-seized-by-belgium-with-help-of-france-after-ship-was-hit-with-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/4245\/","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic moment Putin&#8217;s shadow fleet tanker is seized by Belgium with help of France after ship was hit with sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>THIS is the dramatic moment Belgian and French forces seize one of Putin\u2019s sanctioned shadow fleet tankers in the North Sea.<\/p>\n<p>The shocking video shows how helicopters surround the ship, which was carrying illegal Russian oil, using \u201ca false flag and forged documents\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for The US Sun newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Three helicopters surround one of Putin\u2019s notorious shadow fleet tankersCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n<p>The chopper hovers over the ship and the first soldier abseils downCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n<p>Dramatic footage shows as more soldiers descend to the tanker\u2019s deckCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n<p>Jaw-dropping footage shows how three helicopters and one speed boat rapidly surround the vessel.<\/p>\n<p>A chopper hovers over the shadow fleet tanker, and one soldier can be seen abseiling from the aircraft to land on the deck below. <\/p>\n<p>The trooper is quickly followed by two more, until a total of nine soldiers have boarded the ship.<\/p>\n<p>Soldiers can then make their way across the tanker to take control of the rogue tanker.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"article-readmore__text-anchor-wrap\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-sun.com\/news\/15603615\/putin-shadow-fleet-nato-war\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"240\" width=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/KS_nato_comp.jpg\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-readmore__text-kicker\">SUB ZERO<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-readmore__text-headline\">I tracked Putin\u2019s \u2018shadow fleet\u2019 in Nato\u2019s frontier where Vlad wages war every DAY<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken confirmed that his military had taken control of the vessel called Ethera, which has been sanctioned for attempting to illegally export Russian oil. <\/p>\n<p>He said in a post on X: \u201cOver the past few hours, our armed forces, with the support of the French Defence, have boarded an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe vessel is currently being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized.<\/p>\n<p>The tankers help fund Mad Vlad\u2019s assault on Ukraine by helping Russia to sell oil in defiance of international sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>Francken added: \u201cWithout his shadow fleet Putin can\u2019t wage war against innocent Ukrainians. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we take these vessels out. One by one. Till his war of aggression stops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky dubbed the fleet \u201cMoscow\u2019s floating purse\u201d and called its capture \u201cdecisive\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote: \u201cThis particular vessel has long been under US, EU, and UK sanctions, but nonetheless continued to illegally transport Russian oil using a false flag and forged documents. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe welcome this strong action against Moscow\u2019s floating purse and thank France for supporting the operation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is also important to modernize European legislation so that tankers carrying Russian oil are not just stopped but seized, with their oil repurposed for Europe\u2019s security. <\/p>\n<p>Soldiers board the shadow fleet tanker, which carries sanctioned Russian oilCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n<p>A chopper hovers above the EtheraCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n<p>Belgian and French forces approach a sanctioned oil tankerCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must be resolute. Russia operates like a mafia organization, and the response must match that reality. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they reject the rules for the sake of war, the rules must foresee a clear and firm answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>French president <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-sun.com\/who\/emmanuel-macron\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Emmanuel Macron<\/a> called the boarding \u201ca major blow to the shadow fleet\u201d, adding: \u201cEuropeans are determined to cut off the sources of funding for Russia\u2019s war of aggression in Ukraine by enforcing sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tPutin&#8217;s notorious &#8216;Shadow Fleet&#8217;\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-boxout__content__intro\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRUSSIA&#8217;S \u201cshadow fleet\u201d refers to a covert network of ageing oil tankers used to bypass international sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>These sanctions, including price caps on Russian oil, aim to curtail Moscow\u2019s revenues.<\/p>\n<p>However, the shadow fleet allows Russia to continue exporting oil globally while avoiding Western controls.<\/p>\n<p>This fleet is composed of older, poorly maintained vessels often operating without reputable Western insurance, relying instead on obscure providers or none at all.<\/p>\n<p>To evade detection, the fleet employs tactics such as turning off tracking systems, falsifying location data, and conducting ship-to-ship transfers at sea to disguise the oil\u2019s origin.<\/p>\n<p>Its opaque operations and lack of oversight create vulnerabilities for maritime safety and international law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The soldiers make their way across the shipCredit: Reuters\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THIS is the dramatic moment Belgian and French forces seize one of Putin\u2019s sanctioned shadow fleet tankers in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,1828],"class_list":{"0":"post-4245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belgium","8":"tag-belgium","9":"tag-ukraine-war"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}