French navy detains Russia-linked oil tanker suspected in Denmark drone incidents
The high seas just served up a thriller. French naval forces have boarded an oil tanker called Boracay, a ship with more aliases than a spy novel and a spot on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” list. Why the sudden attention? Investigators think it may have played a role in mysterious drone flights that shut down airports in Denmark last month.
Two crew members—claiming to be the captain and first mate—are now in custody after refusing to cooperate or prove the ship’s nationality. The tanker, loaded with 750,000 barrels of Russian crude and headed for India, was intercepted off Europe and redirected to France, where it’s under investigation. French president Emmanuel Macron gave the move a thumbs up, while the Kremlin shrugged and said it knew nothing.
Here’s the backdrop: on September 22 and 24, drones were spotted over Copenhagen and Aalborg, forcing closures of both airports. They weren’t hobby drones but larger, fixed-wing craft that could have been launched from a ship. And guess who was nearby at the time? Yep—Boracay, along with two other commercial vessels and a Russian warship.
Denmark isn’t amused. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen called the incidents part of a “hybrid war”, bluntly naming Russia as the only country willing to make such threats. Now Europe is talking about building a “drone wall” for protection, with NATO partners already rushing in anti-drone systems.
Boracay itself is no stranger to trouble. Once known as Varuna, Pushpa, and Kiwala, the ship has been detained before and is already on sanction lists in the UK and EU. That makes it a classic example of the “shadow fleet”—vessels with murky ownership and constantly changing identities, moving Russian oil under the radar.
For now, Boracay sits under French watch, its crew facing questions and its cargo going nowhere. But the bigger story is clear: Europe is bracing for a new kind of security threat, where tankers and drones mix in ways that sound less like trade and more like a thriller at sea.
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