The Italian Navy has boarded a ship from the shadow fleet

The Italian navy vessel Thaon di Revel, flagship of the Eunavfor Med – Operation Irini mission, boarded the oil tanker Toa Payoh off the coast of Pantelleria yesterday morning. The cargo ship, registered under the Cameroonian flag, was subject to European Union sanctions as it belonged to the Russian shadow fleet. The vessel had set sail from the port of Cotonou, in Benin, and was bound for Istanbul. According to the Ministry of Defence, the crew of the Toa Payoh were initially uncooperative, so the military boarded the vessel using a helicopter that took off from their ship, with support from a Greek vessel and a Polish military helicopter.

The operation was carried out in accordance with Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which allows a military vessel, provided the prescribed conditions are met, to carry out the necessary checks on the nationality of a merchant vessel and the flag it is authorised to fly, even in international waters. The checks lasted approximately two hours and were concluded smoothly and in complete safety.

The documentation obtained is currently being examined. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto expressed his satisfaction with the conduct of the operation, commenting: “I would like to congratulate the crew of the Nave Thaon di Revel and all the military personnel involved in the operation for the professionalism, preparedness and resolve they have demonstrated. This operation is further concrete evidence of Italy’s contribution to security in the Mediterranean and to the European Union’s efforts”. In the afternoon, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also spoke from La Versiliana, stating: “We are working for peace; to achieve this, we must urge Putin to come to the negotiating table and adopt a more conciliatory stance.”

This is the second interception of a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Mediterranean in two weeks, following the case of the MV North Star on 22 July. These incidents appear to indicate a shift in the priorities of the EU mission, launched in 2020 to ensure compliance with UN Security Council resolutions banning the trafficking of arms to and from Libya, and which is now increasingly focused on countering the movements of the shadow fleet.