Captain of Russian Shadow Fleet Sentenced to One Year in Prison in France, but Released Early

A French court has sentenced in absentia to one year in prison and issued an arrest warrant for the Chinese captain of the Russian shadow fleet tanker Feniks, Chen Zhangjie. He was convicted of failing to comply with an order to stop the vessel. The court also ordered Zhangjie to pay a fine of €150,000.

Le Monde writes about this.

In September, the French Navy detained the tanker, then called the Boracay, after the crew failed to provide proof of the vessel’s nationality and failed to follow orders. Captain Chen Zhangze and the chief mate were detained, but the Associated Press reported that they were released a few days later and the ship resumed its voyage. The chief mate was not charged, and Captain Chen Zhangze was tried in absentia in February. According to Vessel Finder, the Boracay is now called the Feniks and flying the Russian flag.

Agence France-Presse, citing an informed French source and the captainʼs lawyer, reported that two employees of the Russian private security company Moran Security Group were on board. The source said they were gathering intelligence, and one of them was a former police officer who had previously worked for Wagner PMC.

AFP also wrote that this ship was off the coast of Denmark from September 22 to 25 — thatʼs when unknown drones were spotted over the country, including its military facilities.