EU Expands Shadow Fleet Flag Checks with Tanker Boarding

EU Steps Up Flag Verification on Suspected Shadow Fleet Vessels

According to a report by The Maritime Executive, the European Union is intensifying scrutiny of tankers suspected of sailing under false flags, with its Mediterranean naval mission, Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, boarding another vessel this week. The bloc is also extending similar powers to Operation Atalanta, which patrols the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, giving it authority to carry out flag verification boardings in its own area of operations.

The latest case involved the Turkish-owned product tanker South Star (39,817 dwt), intercepted in the Western Mediterranean on July 20. The vessel is believed to have been moving Russian-origin products from the Black Sea to North Africa, and was sanctioned by both the UK and EU in 2025 under a previous name for alleged involvement in illicit ship-to-ship transfers. IRINI says the tanker was stopped over suspicion it was operating under a false flag — shown in shipping databases as flying the flag of Cameroon, a registry flagged as unreliable, while Equasis indicated the ship had shifted its registration to Equatorial Guinea as of June.

Legal Basis and Outcome of the Boarding

IRINI’s naval forces boarded the South Star under authority granted in March to exercise the “right of visit for flag verification,” drawing on Article 110 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Officers inspected the vessel’s documentation and gathered information to pass on to EU authorities before releasing the ship, which was later tracked docking in Rades, Tunisia, on July 22.

This marks the fourth such boarding by IRINI, following inspections of the Nelsa in May and the Oneiroi and Sandhya in June — all tankers registered in Cameroon and previously sanctioned by the EU or UK under different names. Notably, the Sandhya has since been renamed Vychegda and reflagged to Russia.

A “Stop and Release” Approach

Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, described the effort as matching sanctions enforcement with action at sea, and said extending the mission to Atalanta “further tightens the net.” However, the EU’s approach differs markedly from that of member states such as France, Sweden, Belgium, and the UK, which have moved to seize or redirect suspect vessels into port. The EU’s naval missions are instead boarding, documenting, and releasing tankers that are largely already known to be sanctioned — a strategy that, for now, adds intelligence to an existing picture rather than physically disrupting voyages.

IRINI’s broader activity in June included radio contact with 434 merchant vessels, two flag verification boardings, and three additional consensual ship visits, alongside monitoring of 16 ports, 60 suspected flights, and 25 airports. Since its 2020 launch to counter illegal arms trafficking and oil smuggling tied to Libya, the mission has seized three vessels for arms embargo violations and inspected 33 vessels in total, out of more than 24,000 hailed by radio. Its mandate has been extended to March 2027.

What This Means for Owners, Managers, and Charterers

For legitimate operators, the expansion of flag verification into the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean signals that documentary and registry checks are becoming a routine feature of naval patrols far beyond the Mediterranean, not just an enforcement tool aimed at sanctioned shadow fleet tonnage. Vessels with recent flag changes, ownership transfers, or registries known for lax oversight are likely to draw closer attention, even when trading legitimately.

This trend reinforces the value of independent condition and pre-purchase surveys, particularly for vessels acquired secondhand or reflagged, where documentation history and registry status can otherwise be difficult to verify quickly. Charterers and managers relying on tankers with complex ownership or flag histories should expect longer transit delays if boarded, and should ensure their own paperwork, class certificates, and flag registration records are unambiguous and current. As enforcement bodies gather more data through these boardings, the operational risk of trading with vessels that have opaque histories is likely to grow, even for those not directly named on a sanctions list.

Reviewed by Ibrahim Halil Ceylan, Marine Surveyor at Apeks Marine.