BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Belgium’s special forces boarded and seized an oil tanker from the “shadow fleet” Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, the government said on Sunday.

Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the vessel was intercepted in the North Sea during an overnight operation.

“Today, a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet was intercepted in the North Sea,” Prevot wrote on X, thanking Belgian special forces for their “exceptional professionalism and courage.”

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said the intercepted tanker was “being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized.”

Prosecutors identified the ship, which was said to be on its way back to Russia, as the “Ethera.”

The tanker flew the flag of Guinea, but an on-board inspection confirmed suspicion that it was sailing under a false flag, they said.

“Ship documents were found that are suspected of being false,” the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding that authorities have opened a criminal investigation.

“If a ship sails under a false flag, this means that it does not comply with several international regulations,” the statement added.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on X that French naval forces assisted in the operation, calling it a “major blow” to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

‘Resolute and justified’

Russia has used a flotilla of ageing tankers of opaque ownership to get around restrictions on its lucrative crude exports imposed over its 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union has blacklisted hundreds of vessels in a bid to sap Moscow’s war chest.

“Sanctions only matter if they are enforced. Today, we enforced them,” Prevot, who is also Belgium’s deputy prime minister, said.

The operation was carried out alongside Belgium’s G7, Nordic and Baltic partners and in coordination with France, he added.

Sanctions aimed at limiting Moscow’s revenues used to pursue its war have shut out many tankers carrying Russian oil from Western insurance and shipping systems.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga welcomed the seizure.

“Such resolute and justified action is required to deprive Russia of resources to continue its aggression and war crimes against Ukraine,” he wrote on X.