How an ageing shadow-fleet tanker became a symbol of Moscow’s hybrid war. A rusting oil tanker seized by French authorities this week is at the centre of a storm linking Russia’s shadow fleet to a series of disruptive drone attacks on European airports and infrastructure.
The ship, Boracay, left Russia on September 20 and sailed through the Baltic Sea just as a wave of unexplained drone incursions hit Europe. Over nine separate incidents, swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles forced airport closures, spied on power plants, and raised fears of a new dimension to Moscow’s hybrid warfare.
A print-media investigation using MarineTraffic tracking data suggests that the tanker was in the vicinity of every major drone incident. On September 22, when drone activity brought Copenhagen airport to a standstill, Boracay was within 50 nautical miles of Denmark’s capital. Days later, as the vessel traced Denmark’s northern coastline, four more airports reported drone sightings.
On September 25, German authorities reported drones surveilling a power plant, shipyard, canal, hospital, and parliament in Kiel. Data shows the tanker was at that time positioned off Germany’s North Sea coast. By the end of the month, the ship had passed through the English Channel and into French waters, where authorities boarded and detained it near Brest. President Vladimir Putin swiftly condemned the raid, accusing France of “piracy.”
The Boracay’s suspected role marks the first known case of a shadow-fleet ship being used not just to bypass Western sanctions but to actively disrupt European societies.
Traditionally, the shadow fleet’s purpose has been economic, a smuggling sanctioned Russian oil to finance the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. These ships, often renamed and reflagged under dubious registries, operate with little oversight. Boracay, originally built in 2007 as Pacific Apollo, has cycled through at least six names and a carousel of fraudulent flags from Benin, Gambia and Malawi.
Registered to Baaj Shipping Limited, a Seychelles-based shell company, the vessel was last inspected in Estonia this spring, where inspectors found 40 deficiencies. Safety and radio certificates were deemed invalid, raising alarms not only about sanctions breaches but also about the potential for environmental disaster.
Continue reading with Eandel
Subscribe to unlock the complete story and receive your subscriber benefits.
