Russian missile cruiser Moskva is seen anchored off La Maddalena island, off Sardinia's northeast coast, Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003 -
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ANTONIO SATTA/AP2003
Last updated: 7 hours ago
World News
The Italian Navy said its troops boarded a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday it claimed was linked to Russia.
The navy said that personnel from one of its ships currently serving as flagship of a European Union mission in the Mediterranean Sea, boarded the oil tanker west of the island of Pantelleria in the central Mediterranean Sea.
The navy said the tanker is currently subject to European sanctions and belongs to the so-called Russian shadow fleet.
The fleet is used to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine.
The tanker "Toa Payoh", sailing under the Cameroon flag, departed from the port of Cotonou, in the African country of Benin, on 16 July and was bound for Istanbul, Turkey, the Italian Navy said.
Troops boarded the tanker after its captain refused to cooperate when requested to provide information, the navy said.
The shadow fleet is made up of aging tankers bought used, often by nontransparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries such as the United Arab Emirates or the Marshall Islands, and flagged in places like Gabon or the Cook Islands.
Additional sources • Agencies
