On Monday, June 1, 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on social media that the previous day the French Navy (Marine nationale), with assistance including from the British side, had detained the sanctioned Russian Shadow Fleet tanker Tagor (IMO 9282481) in the Atlantic Ocean, more than 400 nautical miles west of Brittany, after it had left Russian waters.
La Marine nationale a arraisonné hier matin un nouveau pétrolier sous sanctions internationales en provenance de Russie : le Tagor. Notre détermination est constante et totale.
Cette intervention a été effectuée en Atlantique, en haute mer,… pic.twitter.com/zxEslYjbUE
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 1, 2026
„Yesterday morning, the French Navy boarded another tanker under international sanctions, arriving from Russia: the Tagor. Our determination remains constant and total.
This operation was carried out in the Atlantic, on the high seas, with the support of several partners, including the United Kingdom, in strict compliance with the law of the sea.
It is unacceptable for vessels to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years.
These vessels, which fail to comply with the most basic rules of maritime navigation, also pose a threat to the environment and to everyone’s security.”
Emmanuel Macron
The fuel tanker Tagor was built in 2005 and currently sails under the flag of Madagascar. At the time of its detention, its AIS transponder was switched off, while its last known position, from May 25, placed it in the Norwegian Sea. The last port at which it had docked was Murmansk, meaning that it was not detained shortly after leaving Russian waters ‒ editor’s note.
Tagor is 251.56 m long and 43.8 m wide, with a gross tonnage of 63,797 t and a deadweight of 114,809 DWT. The vessel has carried its current name since July 2024. Previously, it sailed under the flags of Panama as Priapus from December 2022, the Marshall Islands as Piper from December 2018, and the Isle of Man as British Gannet from March 2005.
According to information on the Shadow Fleet collected by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, or HUR MO, in the War & Sanctions information service, during the period of the G7 oil embargo and price cap on Russian oil, the vessel called at Russian ports from which it transported crude oil, mainly from Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea to third countries, while using the practice of switching off its AIS signal. Its captain is Yuri Levitsky, born on August 27, 1970, who has been subject to Ukrainian sanctions since April 11, 2025.
The vessel previously belonged to Fractal Marine DMCC, a company from the United Arab Emirates that was one of the operators of the Shadow Fleet in 2023. The company was established shortly before G7 countries adopted the price cap policy for Russian oil and played a significant role in transporting sanctioned commodities. It managed a fleet of 28 tankers as an intermediary between shipowners and chartering companies. After sanctions were imposed, Fractal Marine DMCC attempted to challenge the sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom, but lost in court. It then transferred its fleet to other companies.
The tanker is currently managed by The Zulu Ships Management & Operation – Sole Proprietorship LLC, which also controls other former Fractal Marine DMCC vessels. They are part of an extensive shipping empire controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani uses corruption, benefiting from his father’s political influence at the highest levels of the Iranian regime, to operate a vast fleet of tankers and container ships. This network transports crude oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia, as well as other cargo, to buyers around the world, generating tens of billions of dollars in profits. Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani’s network consists of a vast fleet of vessels, ship-management companies, and shell companies that launder billions of dollars in proceeds from the global sale of Iranian and Russian crude oil and petroleum products, most often to buyers in China. The network takes significant steps to conceal its activities and obscure links to the Shamkhani family, Iran, and Russia.
The aforementioned Fractal Marine DMCC, as well as Wanta Shipping LLC-FZ in the UAE, Algae Ship Charter FZCO in the UAE, and The Zulu Ships Management & Operation – Sole Proprietorship LLC in the UAE, with which the tanker is associated, are among the companies that have played a significant role in managing and operating Shamkhani’s tanker fleet.
Tagor has been under US sanctions since July 30, 2025. Further sanctions were subsequently imposed by the European Union on October 24, 2025, Switzerland on December 13, 2025, Ukraine on December 13, 2025, and the United Kingdom on February 24, 2026.
This is another tanker detained with French involvement, following the vessels Grinch on January 22 this year, Ethera on February 28, and Deyna on March 20.
Hier, un navire de la @MarineNationale a effectué, en haute mer, une enquête de pavillon qui a permis de confirmer l’irrégularité du pavillon arboré par le pétrolier-cargo Tagor.
Cette 4ème intervention depuis septembre 2025 illustre notre vigilance permanente vis-à-vis de ceux… https://t.co/WHUkw6Ifvi pic.twitter.com/sS8YRaalPa
— Chef d’état-major des armées (@CEMA_FR) June 1, 2026