France is investigating a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Russian crude shipments after the French Navy alerted prosecutors about a suspected offense. Reuters reports that the Benin-flagged vessel Boracay, blacklisted by the European Union and the UK, is now anchored off France’s Atlantic coast near Saint-Nazaire while authorities build their case.

French Navy signals suspected offense to prosecutors

The French Navy said on 30 September that it had reported a suspected infraction by the Boracay to the public prosecutor’s office in Brest. According to its statement to Reuters, an investigation is underway. 

The crude oil tanker, built in 2007, is currently at anchor off western France’s Atlantic coast, close to Saint-Nazaire.

A tanker under EU and UK sanctions

Britain and the EU imposed separate sanctions on the crude oil tanker in October 2024 and February 2025. The EU said the Boracay was linked to transporting Russian crude oil and petroleum products “while practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices.”

The UK said the vessel was “involved in activity whose object or effect is to destabilize Ukraine […] or to obtain a benefit from or support the government of Russia” in moving oil or oil products that originated in Russia from Russia to a third country.

Multiple names and a shadow fleet past

The vessel changed its name to Boracay — or on some shipping databases Pushpa — in December 2024. It had previously been named Kiwala.

In April 2025, Estonia released the Kiwala after detaining it for sailing without a valid country flag. The tanker is part of the so‑called shadow fleet involved in the Russian oil trade, with unknown ownership and insurance and typically more than 20 years old.