The oil tanker Tagor, which set sail from Murmansk and was suspected of illegally flying Cameroon’s flag, was stopped on May 31 around 400 nautical miles west of Brittany before being redirected to France.
On May 31, French naval forces intercepted the Tagor approximately 400 nautical miles (roughly 740 kilometers) west of Brittany over suspicion that it was fraudulently displaying a Cameroonian flag. The vessel had departed from Murmansk, Russia, and was reportedly heading to Limbe, Cameroon. A nationality check was carried out at sea under Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The French Navy then escorted the tanker to France.
Yaoundé condemns fraudulent use of its flag
Cameroon’s Transport Minister Jean Ernest Masséna Ngalle Bibehe made a statement on public radio declaring that the Tagor “does not appear in any of the official registers of vessels authorized to fly the Cameroonian flag.” He condemned “with rigor the fraudulent and abusive use of the attributes of Cameroonian nationality” and urged “the international community to take drastic measures against such abuses.” Yaoundé also reiterated its dedication to continuing “the process of cleaning up and modernizing its flag registry.”
This formal statement is intended to distance Cameroon from any link with a vessel that maritime authorities classify as part of the “ghost fleet” — ships used to transport sanctioned oil onto global markets while evading oversight. The incident underscores how vulnerable national flag registries can be to exploitation by actors seeking to bypass regulatory controls.
France’s fourth interception since September 2025
This interception of the Tagor is one of a series of French operations targeting such opaque fleets. It marks the fourth such intervention since September 2025. After inspections, the case was transferred to the Brest public prosecutor’s office, which handles maritime affairs.
Since June 2, the vessel has been anchored in Douarnenez Bay in the Finistère department as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. The growing frequency of these maritime interceptions reflects tighter European controls on oil export routes that circumvent international sanctions.
