Sanctioned Russian security firm’s staff were aboard tanker detained by France, monitoring captain and gathering intelligence

Two employees of the Russian Moran Security Group were aboard the tanker Boracay (IMO 9332810) when French authorities detained it in September as it transited the English Channel, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) citing an informed source. The two were aboard the ship in order to monitor the crew and collect intelligence.

According to the source, the Moran Security employees’ role was “to ensure the protection of the vessel and, above all, to make sure the captain strictly followed the orders given in line with Russian interests.” The AFP source described the guards as Alexander T., 34, and Maxim D., 40, adding that the latter is a former police officer who worked for the Wagner private military company.

According to the source, Moran Security Group guards accompany dozens of ships in Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. “When they pass near European coasts or military assets, they take photos of our vessels,” the source added.

As previously reported, the Boracay tanker, which is believed to be part of the “shadow fleet,” left Russia’s Primorsk port in the Leningrad Region on Sept. 20 carrying a cargo of oil. Ten days later, it was stopped in the English Channel and boarded. French authorities arrested the captain and the chief officer, accusing them of failing to comply with orders from a French Navy vessel. Despite being seized, on Oct. 3 satellite data indicated that the tanker had continued on its way to the Suez Canal.

The captain’s testimony

On Feb. 23, a trial in absentia began in the French city of Brest against the Boracay’s captain, 39-year-old Chinese citizen Chen Zhangjie. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of one year in prison for his failure to obey an order to stop the vessel.

The captain’s lawyer confirmed to AFP that two Russians who were not sailors were on board and that they “represented the cargo.” According to the lawyer, the decision to allow those men aboard was not made by the captain. “I don’t know what they are doing on the boat. This is not common,” Chen Jiangjie said when police questioned him. The captain’s testimony was read out in court. He also said Russian personnel were aboard during Boracay’s previous voyage in July.

According to the lawyer, when the tanker was released, the guards remained on board, sailing to Suez before disembarking there a few days later.

A senior intelligence official from one of the European countries bordering Russia told AFP that intelligence services noticed the presence of Moran Security Group personnel on Russian “shadow fleet” vessels “sometime last year,” adding that “there is coordination between these private military companies and the state.”

“Sixty percent of Russian oil goes through the Baltic, it is a lifeline,” the intelligence official continued , noting that the number of “shadow fleet” vessels in the Baltic Sea is growing.

Moran Security Group

Moran Security Group was registered in Moscow in 2011. According to the SPARK corporate registry database, the company operates in the field of maritime passenger and cargo transport, as well as security services and investigations. Its CEO is Vyacheslav Kalashnikov.

The company’s website says it performs a range of functions in the areas of security, consulting, transportation, and medical support. The services listed include armed escort of vessels, along with intelligence operations. “We employ military and civilian specialists of the highest class, who have undergone special training and have work experience in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa,” the website says.

In 2024, the U.S. Treasury added Moran Security Group to its sanctions lists for “providing armed guard services and contract work with Russian state-owned enterprises.” At the time, the company’s head was listed as Russian citizen Alexei Badikov.

The Warsaw Institute, a Polish analytical center, wrote in 2018 that Moran Security Group was founded by four retired FSB officers, and that the company’s head, Kalashnikov, is a retired FSB colonel. Dmitry Utkin, the former commander of the Wagner Group, previously worked at the company. Utkin was killed in August 2023 along with Wagner Group co-founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in Russia’s Tver Region that occurred nearly two months to the day after Prigozhin’s abortive march on Moscow.