France seizes suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker Grinch in the Mediterranean Sea
On Jan. 22, the French Navy intercepted the oil tanker Grinch (IMO: 9288851) in the Mediterranean Sea, according to an announcement made by the French military on X earlier today. A press release issued by the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean said the vessel, which had set sail from the Russian port of Murmansk, was suspected of operating under a false flag and violating international sanctions.
According to Starboard Maritime Intelligence data reviewed by The Insider, the ship has changed flags five times over the past two years: from the Marshall Islands, Liberia, Gabon and Barbados to the Comoros (under whose flag it currently claims to be sailing). The tanker also changed its name from “Carl” to “Grinch” in April 2025 — and lost its classification this past October.
An analysis of its movements shows the tanker regularly called at ports in Turkey and Russia. Its voyage history includes suspicious patterns, such as prolonged drifting in open waters and repeated shutdowns of its Automatic Identification System, or AIS.