Belgium and France Seize Shadow Tanker Tied to Mohammad Shamkhani

Belgian special forces and the French Navy seized the Russian shadow tanker Ethera, which was flying a Guinea flag and linked to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.Defense Minister Theo Francken and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot confirmed the vessel was intercepted in the North Sea and escorted to Zeebrugge.The operation was launched to enforce EU and G7 sanctions targeting vessels used to bypass restrictions on Russian oil exports.Emmanuel Macron and Bart de Wever stated the mission successfully targeted a vessel using forged documents to fund the war of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.