Key facts
- Kallas said Operation IRINI boarded the crude oil tanker MV MIDAG on November 13, 2026.
- Kallas said the boarding confirmed the vessel was sailing under a false flag.
- Ship-tracking site MarineTraffic showed the vessel sailing under the flag of Zimbabwe, per the report.
- Kallas said EU foreign ministers are set to approve new Russia sanctions listings on November 16.
- The Ukrainian government register listed 1,404 vessels as part of Russia's shadow fleet as of May 2026.
European naval forces boarded the crude oil tanker MV MIDAG in the Mediterranean Sea on November 13, 2026, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on November 15. Kallas, writing on X, said the vessel was sailing under a false flag and that the boarding was carried out by the EU's Operation IRINI, the mission that monitors arms and oil trafficking in the Mediterranean.
Kallas said the action was taken under Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits the inspection of ships under certain circumstances. According to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic, the vessel was sailing under the flag of Zimbabwe.
The operation is part of the EU's efforts to curb Russia's shadow fleet, a network of tankers Moscow uses to transport oil while circumventing Western sanctions. Kallas said: "The EU will keep disrupting Russia's shadow fleet at sea and through diplomatic means."
Kallas said EU foreign ministers are set to approve new Russia sanctions listings on November 16, including on banks, buyers and companies supporting the shadow fleet. In August, EU forces boarded another suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker, the MV Sun, in the Mediterranean to verify its flag.
As of May 2026, the Ukrainian government register had identified 1,404 vessels as part of Russia's shadow fleet.