French Court Sentences Shadow Fleet Tanker's Captain to One Year in Prison
A court in France has sentenced the Chinese captain of a shadow fleet tanker to a year-long prison sentence for disobeying instructions from a military boarding team.
Capt. Chen Zhangjie, a 39-year-old Chinese national, was captain of the Russia-linked tanker Boracay during a voyage from the Baltic in September 2025. Boracay is suspected of serving as a launching pad for aerial drones, which interfered with traffic at Copenhagen Airport and at nearby military installations at about the same time that the tanker passed through the Danish Straits.
Following intelligence suggesting that the tanker was involved in Russian "hybrid warfare" operations, French forces interdicted the stateless vessel near Brest to conduct a flag verification boarding. French officers ordered the tanker to take all way off and prepare for boarding, but - according to prosecutors - Capt. Zhangjie declined to do so. The team boarded anyways and took command of the ship, diverting her to Saint-Nazaire for a multiday inspection. Two Russians employed by a security company with ties to Russian intelligence were found aboard, but if there was other evidence of involvement in the drone plot, it was not made public. The ship was released and allowed to continue her voyage.
For Zhangjie's decision not to stop, French prosecutors charged him with "failing to comply." As he was still at sea, he was charged and tried in absentia. During his trial, his lawyer argued that he had simply been waiting for instructions from the shipowner, and that France lacked jurisdiction, as the ship was in international waters. That argument did not persuade the court: On Monday, a judge sentenced the captain to one year in jail and a fine of $170,000 for his failure to comply with the boarding order, and issued a warrant for his arrest.
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His counsel plans to appeal the court's decision.
Boracay (IMO 9332810) continues to trade in Russian crude, now operating under the name Phoenix. As of Monday she was under way off Singapore, bound for the Russian oil port of Kozmino.