March 1 (Reuters) - Belgium seized an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet on Sunday and suspected of sailing with a "false flag and false documents", Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said.
Western sanctions imposed on Russia forinvading Ukraine and aimed at cutting its oil revenues have led to the rise of a "shadow fleet" of tankers helping Moscow to keep its crude exports flowing.
"Over the past few hours, our armed forces, with the support of the French Defence, have boarded an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet," Francken said in a post on X early on Sunday.
"The vessel is currently being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized."
A Belgian official said the seized vessel is named Ethera and is on the European Union's sanctions list.
The Russian embassy in Belgium said on Sunday it was not notified about the facts and reasons for the seizure of the oil tanker, adding that it was seeking information on whether any Russian nationals were on board.
SHADOW FLEET FUELS CONCERN
Moscow has previously called the seizure of its tankers or vessels carrying its cargoes an act of piracy.
Shadow fleet vessels typically have opaque ownership structures and have raised concern about possible environmental risks, with poorly regulated, ageing tankers prone to spills, mechanical failures, and leaks, threatening marine ecosystems.
They also usually sail without top-tier Western insurance or safety certification cover, and often have unknown insurers or assessors of the vessels' seaworthiness - both required for ocean-going commercial ships, shipping and insurance industry sources familiar with the matter have said.
"Without his shadow fleet Putin can’t wage war against innocent Ukrainians. So we take these vessels out. One by one. Till his war of aggression stops," Francken said, adding that Belgium took its responsibility seriously.
The minister told Reuters that the seized vessel was suspected of sailing with a "false flag and false documents".
Belgium's federal prosecutor's office said in a statement that during the on-board inspection "the indications of a false flag were confirmed, and ship documents were found that are suspected of being false,". It added that "a criminal investigation was opened and an order was issued to divert the ship to Belgian territorial waters".
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the Belgian move.
"We urge all partners to follow this example, counter Russia's shadow fleet resolutely through sanctions and concrete action, and advance peace through strength," he said in a post on X.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer, Lili Bayer, Vladimir Soldatkin, Charlotte Van Campenhout and Dan Peleschuk ; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
