Prosecutors in the French city of Brest have imposed a 1 million euro fine on the owner of the tanker Tagor (IMO: 9282481), a vessel linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet” that was detained in the Atlantic in late May on suspicion of using a false flag. The local outlet ICI reported that the ship’s owner is an unnamed “legal entity registered in the Marshall Islands,” which “admitted its guilt and was judicially convicted by the Brest judicial court.”
Notably, however, the tanker’s current owner is listed in the Equasis database as Zulu Ships Management, registered in the United Arab Emirates. When the U.S. Treasury added the company to its sanctions list, it linked Zulu Ships Management to a network of companies run by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, a former top political adviser to Iran’s supreme leader. The company was accused of transporting Russian and Iranian oil in violation of sanctions.
The Brest prosecutor’s office also said the tanker’s owner had “undertaken to obtain a new, lawful flag as soon as possible.”
ICI reported that the Tagor had resumed its voyage after a month-long detention in Douarnenez Bay and is now heading towards Istanbul.
The tanker was detained by French authorities in the Atlantic on the morning of May 31. It was at least the fourth “shadow fleet” vessel detained by France since September 2025.
