Italy Boards EU-Sanctioned Shadow Fleet Tanker on IRINI Patrol
During Operation IRINI, the Italian Navy boarded the EU-sanctioned Shadow Fleet tanker Toa Payoh in international waters west of Pantelleria to verify its nationality after it departed Benin for Istanbul under a Cameroonian flag; the two-hour boarding, conducted from ITS Thaon di Revel with Greek and Polish support, did not result in seizure, underscoring increased EU scrutiny of sanctioned vessels and the ongoing effort to disrupt illicit petroleum flows linked to Russia while enforcing the Libya embargo.