Europe is taking tougher action against tankers falsely using Cameroon's flag registry to transport Russian oil, including boarding vessels at sea, prompting Cameroon to dump 39 such vessels from its ship registry, according to officials and documents.

On June 8 the EU expanded the mandate of Operation IRINI, its naval mission in the Mediterranean, and can now stop, board, detain and inspect ships suspected of belonging to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet". Moscow condemned the move.

Russia has used such tankers, which are typically older and lack known Western insurance or safety certification, to skirt sanctions by sailing under the flags of various nations to obscure their true ownership, cargo and movements.

Three tankers boarded and inspected by IRINI in recent weeks, the Nelsa, the Oneiroi and the Sandhya, were found to be using fraudulent Cameroonian registration, according to two ⁠European military sources.

Nine other ships have been seized by the French, Belgian, British and Swedish navies since the start of 2026, including five with Cameroonian flags.

Cameroon has warned in recent months that its registry has been misused by shadow fleet tankers transporting Russian oil.

In a letter seen by Reuters sent to the U.N. shipping agency dated June 16, Cameroon's government said an official investigation revealed several vessels were unlawfully operating under the country's flag and that two websites were fraudulently being used to assign the flag to ships.

The government said it had de-listed 39 ships as a consequence.


-Reuters