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On the night of March 1, 2026, the combined forces of Belgium and France conducted a special operation to detain the oil tanker Ethera, which, according to Brussels, is part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.” The vessel, sailing under the flag of Guinea, was taken under military control in the North Sea at the exit from the English Channel and is currently being escorted to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge.
The operation, named Blue Intruder, was carried out by the Belgian armed forces with direct support from the French Ministry of Defense. French President Emmanuel Macron released a video of the operation showing two helicopters approaching the ship, after which a capture team landed on the deck.
Belgium’s Chief of Defense Frédéric Vansina explained that Brussels had been tracking the tanker “for some time already.” He mentioned several typical signs of “gray” operations: frequent voyages between Russia and South America, regular disabling of identification systems, and flag changes.
Speaking to the press, Belgium’s Defense Minister Theo Francken made several harsh statements directed at Russia. He emphasized that without the functioning “shadow fleet,” which he claims is used to transport oil while circumventing sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot wage war.” The minister outlined Brussels’ strategy: to disable such vessels one by one. He also noted that Belgium, as a founding state of NATO and the European Union, “takes its responsibility” regarding compliance with international restrictions and maritime security seriously.
The Russian Embassy in Belgium reported that it has not received any official notification from the Belgian authorities regarding the fact and reasons for the tanker’s detention. Diplomats were also not provided with any information about the national composition of its crew. Currently, the Embassy is taking necessary steps to ascertain whether Russian citizens are on board, as well as to ensure their legal rights if this is confirmed.
This incident continues a chain of consistently increasing pressure on shipping that Western countries associate with Russia. Previously, on February 22, the French stopped the tanker Grinch in the Mediterranean Sea. However, back then, the vessel was only given a significant fine, after paying which it left French waters.
Furthermore, Belgian authorities had previously stated that they had identified over 500 “shadow” vessels with opaque jurisdictions, dozens of which had passed through the North Sea and Belgium’s zone of responsibility. They now plan to detain them one by one. According to some experts, the US and EU countries periodically seize tankers carrying Russian oil to keep transportation costs for energy carriers high. Their goal is for Russia to export a lot but earn little.
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nikt się rosji nie boi. a putin jest bezradny. jak mu dadzą gówno na talerzu to powie ze smaczny gulasz. klika putina niszczy rosje
clearly the n(a)w(t)o scum are looking to provoke russia into ww3
clearly this seizure attempt was planned by bridgette macron. there is no possibility that france and belgium did this without the orders of zio bankers