French police detain 2 crew members of oil tanker linked to Russia's shadow fleet

Paris

 A French prosecutor said police have detained two crew members of an oil tanker immobilised off the country's Atlantic coast, which President Emmanuel Macron linked to Russia.
Macron has alleged that the tanker belongs to Russia's so-called shadow fleet of ageing tankers of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are avoiding Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Stephane Kellenberger, prosecutor of the western port city of Brest, said on Thursday that the crew members presenting themselves as the ship's captain and chief mate have been in custody since at least Wednesday.
A preliminary investigation was opened into the crew's “refusal to cooperate” and “failure to justify the nationality of the vessel” after the Atlantic Maritime Prefect alerted justice authorities on Monday, Kellenberger said.
The tanker, which was sailing last week off the coast of Denmark, was cited by European naval experts as possibly being involved in drone flights over the country.