MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. On March 20, the French military detained the tanker Deyna, sailing under the Mozambican flag from Murmansk, the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean said.

French President Emmanuel Macron also announced the detention of the vessel, claiming it belonged to a so-called Russian shadow fleet.

TASS has compiled a digest concerning the situation.

Detention

- On March 20, the French Navy conducted an operation in the western Mediterranean against the oil tanker Deyna, sailing under the Mozambican flag from Murmansk, the prefecture said in a statement.

- It is alleged that the operation was carried out jointly "with France's allies, including Britain, which participated in tracking the vessel," based on "Article 110 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and was aimed at verifying the nationality of a vessel suspected of using a false flag."

- French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that the tanker in question was part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet.

- The oil tanker Deyna was diverted to the western Mediterranean and escorted by the French Navy. It was to arrive in the Gulf of Fos early on March 23, the prefecture reported.

- According to the prefecture, the tanker will be anchored and left in the custody of the Marseille prosecutor as part of a preliminary investigation into a case of violation of vessel registration regulations.

- Restrictions on maritime and air navigation have been imposed in the area around the vessel's anchorage until March 27.

Crew

- There are no Russian citizens among the crew of the tanker Deyna, the Russian embassy told TASS.

Reaction

- Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the situation involving the tanker.

- Moscow considers the West's illegal actions in the oceans absolutely unacceptable: "It stops and escorts unwanted vessels to their ports with impunity, accusing them of violating some 'international' sanctions," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

- Russia calls for support for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and warns against succumbing to the West's neo-colonialist diktat, the statement reads.