The Italian navy boarded a Russian tanker in international waters off Pantelleria, a strategic island between Sicily and Tunisia. This operation, carried out with support from a Greek vessel and a Polish maritime patrol aircraft, falls within the EU’s Operation Irini mission focused on arms and oil trafficking linked to Russian sanctions evasion. The interdiction in the central Mediterranean represents an unusual approach, as most previous shadow fleet enforcement actions have occurred in the Atlantic, the English Channel, or the Baltic Sea. The identity of the tanker, its cargo, and the outcome of the boarding have not been publicly disclosed.
Source: Read the original article
