VLADIMIR Putin’s sinister “shadow fleet” is stirring chaos in Nato waters – with claims the Russian tyrant’s ghost ships were involved in daring air incursions.
Brazen breaches into European airspace have been ramping up – and Western allies are now pointing the finger at Putin’s notorious armada.
The Russian-linked ‘Boracay’ was stormed by French officials on Wednesday[/caption]
They arrested two on board a ship suspected of being part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’[/caption]
The “shadow fleet” includes vessels with shady ownership details which are hard to trace back – making them ideal for transporting goods while avoiding sanctions.
Their latest encounter unfolded on Wednesday, when French forces arrested two crewmates on an oil tanker – said to be part of the elusive fleet – on suspicion of helping launch drones into Danish and Norwegian airspace.
The ships have opaque ownership structures and sail without proper regulation in order to circumvent European rules and blindside authorities.
And they employ a range of underhanded tactics to get the better of Western allies.
Ship-to-ship transfers take place at sea, moving goods from one boat to another while avoiding the scrutiny of naval officials at ports.
Falsification is also rife – with mad Vlad’s armada lying about ship ID numbers and making up location data.
Displaying flags from countries with lower oversight is also a common strategy to throw off sea authorities, while some ships have even been accused of cutting sea cables.
The “shadow fleet” accounts for nearly 20 per cent of all active oil tankers in the world, according to The New York Times, and ships millions of barrels of Russian oil per day.
European allies have blamed the fleet – which is believed to contain nearly 1,000 vessels – for aiding Putin’s wide-reaching campaign of disruption.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Thursday that another Russian naval provocation had taken place near the Port of Szczecin.
He said: “Every week we had new incidents in the Baltic Sea involving Russia.”
Meanwhile in Germany earlier this month, authorities stormed and detained cargo vessel “Scanlark” on suspicion of launching another Russian spy drone.
The “Boracay” ship – one of three vessels being probed over the mystery drone sightings last week – was stormed by French officials and is said to have been involved in several airports shut downs.
Stunning footage showed the dramatic ordeal unfold, with authorities detaining the captain and his first mate over fears they were involved in the recent drone mayhem.
The shifty boat was recently renamed “Pushpa”, and raised eyebrows when it was spotted sailing close to Denmark‘s coast on the night Copenhagen airport shut.
The other two boats named Astrol 1 and Oslo Carrier 3 were also in close proximity to the coast when the drones were launched.
While authorities are still investigating the origin of the drones, they said they were likely flown by a “capable operator” who wanted to “show off”.
Pushpa, donning a Benin flag and sizing up at 801ft, is blacklisted by the European Union.
The Eagle S tanker was also suspected of belonging to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, pictured in 2024[/caption]
The shadow fleet spawned from sanctions on Russia following Putin’s attack on Ukraine[/caption]
It was stationed off Denmark from September 22 to 25, according to ship tracking data.
President Emmanuel Macron previously said that France was probing the ship for “serious offences”.
In October 2024, the tanker was named “Varuna” and listed as part of Russia‘s shadow fleet by the UK for “carrying oil products that originated in Russia to a third country”.
The shape-shifter vessel even had a fourth alias, when it was called Kiwala in April in year.
That month, it was detained by Estonian forces after they struggled to identify its registry in Djibouti.
The rising wave of Russia’s vast ghost vessel fleet was initially sparked by heavy Western sanctions on Putin’s regime after he launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
It comes after Nato ramped up its air defences after mysterious drones continued to menace military bases and airports across Europe.
More drones were spotted over multiple Danish military establishments over the weekend – just days after Copenhagen airport was shut down.
On Saturday, suspected drones swooped over Denmark’s largest military base – sparking security fears.
A spokesperson for Nato said it has “enhanced vigilance” in the Baltic Sea following the intrusions.
Raid on Pushpa
FRENCH troops swooped in on a suspected Russian vessel over fears it helped launch drones into Nato airspace.
The ghost oil tanker is one of the three ships linked to Russia’s mysterious “shadow fleet” – and is being probed after Europe’s drone menace.
French soldiers boarded Pushpa, which was seized off the coast of Saint-Nazaire.
It raised eyebrows after it was spotted sailing close to the Danish coast on the night of the drone attack, which forced Copenhagen airport to shut.
Also called Boracay, the Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union, was stationed off Denmark from September 22 to 25, according to ship tracking data.
President Emmanuel Macron today said that France was probing the ship for “serious offences”.
“There were some very serious offences committed by this crew, which justify the current judicial procedure,” Macron told reporters at an EU leaders’ summit in Copenhagen.
The oil tanker remained moored off the Russian village of Ust-Luga until September 18.
Then it departed for the Russian port of Primorsk near Saint Petersburg, on the other side of the Gulf of Finland.
The reinforced measures “include multiple intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and at least one air-defence frigate” in the region to the west of Russia, alliance spokesman Martin O’Donnell said.
Denmark has installed a scanning radar at Copenhagen Airport after repeated drone run-ins.
The XENTA-M5 radar will give Denmark’s Ministry of Defence state-of-the-art 3D surveillance of the airspace and help them identify any threats.
It comes as German Navy frigate FGS Hamburg F220 – a Nato air defence frigate – was docked in Copenhagen to strengthen surveillance in the Baltic Sea.
Commander Arlo Abrahamson, spokesman for Nato’s Naval Command (MARCOM), said: “FGS Hamburg’s presence close to Denmark sends a clear signal of security and unity in the alliance.”
Officials in Europe have been on high alert after the incursions in Denmark shut down air traffic in various parts of the country several times over the past week.
Europe is now gearing up to build a massive layer of defence dubbed the “drone wall” to deter Russian incursions into Nato airspace.
After Moscow‘s repeated and unprovoked aerial invasions threatening Europe’s security, the continent is now on a war footing to fight Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
In the last two weeks, Europe has witnessed fighter jet face-offs, mysterious large drone sightings and coordinated sabotage activities that crippled operations at major airports.
Russia has been blamed for some of them, but denies that anything was done on purpose or that it played a role.
The Boracay has had several name changes[/caption]
