French Authorities Arrest Master of Stateless Tanker off Réunion

A shadow fleet tanker seized by French forces in the Indian Ocean is now anchored in waters off Réunion, the French prefecture east of Madagascar, and its master has been arrested.

The sanctioned tanker DF Peak departed waters near Trinidad and Tobago in mid-September and got under way on a long eastward journey across the Atlantic. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope, DF Peak was operating about 450 nautical miles south of Réunion when the Marine Nationale intercepted it. French servicemembers boarded it to conduct a flag verification, in accordance with UNCLOS. The ship had declared its flag state as the Benin maritime registry, but its Equasis record indicates that this is false, and French authorities confirmed that the vessel had no valid flag state registration.

????Océan Indien | Contrôle de pavillon effectué par la @MarineNationale sur un pétrolier au large de la Réunion ???? ???? Cette opération visait à vérifier la nationalité d'un navire revendiquant un pavillon béninois. L'examen des documents par l'équipe de visite après sa montée à bord a confirmé les doutes quant à l'irrégularité du pavillon arboré. ?? Cette opération a été menée sur la base de l'article 110 de la Convention des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer et a conduit, sur demande du procureur de la République, au déroutement du navire sous escorte des moyens de la Marine nationale.
— Armée française - Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) October 12, 2026

2006-built DF Peak was operated by Russian state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF) until 2022, when it became part of the SCF-linked Sun Ship fleet based out of Dubai. It was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2024 for noncompliant engagement in the Russian oil trade, and was later sanctioned by the EU, Switzerland, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. It is currently owned and operated by Hong Kong-based entities.

On arrival under escort at Reunion, the tanker was detained and the vessel's Chinese captain was taken into custody "for failing to provide proof of his ship's nationality during a maritime inspection." The master faces up to two years in prison and a fine of more than $300,000 if convicted; the law provides for possible confiscation of the 20-year-old tanker as well.

Investigators initially restricted the crew's movements, but those limits have been lifted, prosecutors said. DF Peak's 20 crewmembers remain aboard the ship. They are citizens from Indonesia, Myanmar and China, consistent with the diverse international crewing of merchant shipping in general.

DF Peak remains at anchor near the town of Saint-Denis, on the northwest side of Reunion.

DF Peak's recent activities are not fully known. Based on data provided by Pole Star Global, the vessel last broadcast movement consistent with Russia-linked activity in April 2025, when it appeared southbound exiting the Black Sea and headed for Asia.

The vessel's AIS transciever broadcast a position east of Trinidad for most of the time period between November 2025 and July 2026. Its trackline for this period showed characteristics of AIS manipulation, including gaps in transmission and unusual anchoring activity. The record shows long-duration, perfectly round anchor swinging circles, consistent with techniques of "anchor spoofing" and "circle spoofing".

TankerTrackers.com reports that its team photographed DF Peak in Venezuelan waters two months ago.