French Navy Intercepts Tanker Suspected of Flying False Flag in Indian Ocean

The French Navy intercepted and boarded the tanker DF Peak in the Indian Ocean, more than 450 nautical miles south of Reunion Island, on the morning of Monday, October 12. The operation was carried out on suspicion that the vessel was sailing under a false flag and was involved in the illicit transport of fuel, according to an announcement by President Emmanuel Macron.

According to the French Armed Forces General Staff, the boarding was carried out under Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which authorizes warships to verify a vessel's nationality. A team examined the documentation of the DF Peak, which claimed to fly the flag of Benin, and confirmed doubts about its registration status. At the request of the prosecutor, the tanker was diverted under escort by the French Navy. Macron stated that the action was carried out in accordance with international law of the sea and stressed that France is determined to combat the shadow fleet worldwide.

The Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, congratulated the military personnel deployed in the southern Indian Ocean area and confirmed that the vessel remains under escort by French forces for further checks, under the authority of the prefect of Reunion. Vautrin stated that international law is not optional and that the armed forces remain fully mobilized to enforce it and combat illicit activities at sea.

The DF Peak is an aframax tanker with a deadweight of 110,100 tonnes, built in 2006, formerly named Kaliningrad and linked to the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot. The European Union added it to its sanctions list on June 25, 2024. According to French authorities, the vessel is suspected of carrying sanctioned Russian oil as part of the so-called shadow fleet, a network of vessels used to move Russian crude and evade international restrictions. French authorities did not release further details about the cargo, the destination, or the legal proceedings that may follow the interception.

The interception of the DF Peak adds to a series of French operations against the shadow fleet over the past year. In October 2025, French personnel boarded the tanker Boracay, which led to an investigation after the crew failed to prove the vessel's nationality. In January 2026, France diverted the tanker Grinch on suspicion of a false flag, and in June the Navy boarded the Tabor in the Atlantic, confirming doubts about its flag and diverting it at the request of the public prosecutor's office. France had also seized another tanker linked to the Russian shadow fleet in the Mediterranean on June 23.