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France seizes suspected Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker in the Mediterranean (www.bbc.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/world@lemmy.world
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France says it has seized an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia's sanction-busting "shadow fleet".

French President Emmanuel Macron said the tanker, named the Grinch, was "subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag".

The French navy, with the assistance of allies including the UK, boarded the vessel on Thursday morning between Spain and Morocco. French maritime authorities said that a search of the vessel had "confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag".

Russia's embassy in Paris said it had not been informed of the seizure.

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[–] 16 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (6 children)

You're stretching it - it's not highway robbery when you catch someone driving a car with fake plates and smuggled goods in the back

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  • [+] -13 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Your scenario makes sense only from the perspective of basically the police and in international relationships there is no police.

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  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Flying false flags is a valid reason for a country to board a ship, according to UNCLOS.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    And america painted their planes as civilian ones.

    This is a war crime. I am pointing it out because my point is that international law doesn't exist. The only differentiating factor is wether you are strong enough avoid being judged.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    The existence of crime is not a proof of the inexistence of law. Not that I disagree with the general sentiment that international law is applied to the convenience of whoever is stronger, but the US doing something wrong and not getting punished for it has very little to do with France doing something specifically allowed

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    So countries should be entirely free to do anything they want and nobody is morally correct to stop them?

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Of course not on either of the statements.

    But I am wondering how can enforcement be done without concentrating power in one county like the US because as we can see this system is very easy to abuse.

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