A tanker believed to be operating within a network of vessels helping circumvent Western sanctions was being escorted by French naval forces toward Reunion Island on Tuesday, a move that Russian authorities characterised as an act of piracy.
Trade restrictions placed on Russia over its military action in Ukraine — measures designed to reduce income from petroleum exports — have given rise to a loosely regulated network of older tankers that continue to carry crude oil on Moscow's behalf. Vessels suspected of carrying Russian oil under deceptive registration have been intercepted at sea as part of a broader tightening of enforcement measures across the continent.
The DF Peak — a ship previously sailing as the Kaliningrad under a Beninese flag — was directed toward Reunion Island for a thorough inspection after army spokesperson Colonel Xavier Rival told journalists that boarding teams had gone aboard over unresolved questions surrounding the vessel's flag registration, with a public prosecutor's order underpinning that referral. The vessel is tallied among at least five tankers with reported connections to Russia that have been held by French authorities since 2024. Restrictive measures from the US, UK, and EU were placed against the vessel during 2024.
Footage shared by President Emmanuel Macron on Monday via X showed personnel rappelling from helicopters onto a tanker vessel approximately 450 nautical miles south of Réunion, the French-administered territory in the Indian Ocean. Macron stated in an accompanying post that the ship was under suspicion of operating under a false flag and of involvement in the unlawful transport of fuel, and that efforts to counter vessels operating outside international oversight would continue regardless of their location.
A Tuesday communiqué from the Russian embassy in France, relayed through the state-owned RIA news outlet, described the seizure of the DF Peak as a violation of international maritime law amounting to piracy. The news agency RIA conveyed a statement from the embassy indicating that staff there were working to establish whether any of the crew members held Russian citizenship. No notification of the vessel's detention reached Russian authorities from the French side.
In a separate development the same week, Washington put a temporary easing of restrictions on purchases of Russian diesel into effect, a step tied to supply disruptions and upward pressure on prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
Attempts to contact Zheng Xin Marine, the Hong Kong-registered management company listed for the vessel in shipping databases, went unanswered. Travelling at partial capacity, the vessel had its position recorded near Madagascar's coastline at 04:29 GMT on 12 October, with LSEG ship tracking data placing its most recent port of call at Guanta, Venezuela.
