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Kaja Kallas Says EU Boarded MV MIDAG Under False Flag in Mediterranean
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EU naval mission Irini boarded MV MIDAG in the Mediterranean. The tanker was suspected of belonging to Russia's phantom fleet and under a false flag.
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Irini boards MIDAG
The European Union naval operation in the Mediterranean, EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, boarded the tanker MV MIDAG last Friday, November 13, under Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Kaja Kallas announced that the boarding “confirmed that the MV MIDAG was sailing under a false flag,” and she said the EU would continue to disrupt Russia’s phantom fleet both at sea and through diplomacy. The EU said it is preparing new sanctions lists expected to be approved by foreign ministers on Monday, November 16, including banks, buyers, and companies that support the phantom fleet.
The Kremlin’s shadow fleet saw a third boarding in recent months, and the tanker had flown a Panamanian flag and was now flagged in Zimbabwe. Brussels had not clarified where the boarding took place, who owns the ship, or what it was carrying.
Sanctions and mandate
The EU foreign ministers were expected to approve new sanctions lists on Monday, November 16, and the sources said the lists would include more than one hundred Russian individuals and companies linked to the Kremlin orbit. Brussels is preparing its 22nd sanctions package against Russia, and the boarding came one day before the bloc approves those additions. European Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luís Albuquerque told the European Parliament that the sanctions approved so far have cost the Kremlin more than one trillion euros.
The Irini mission was born in March 2020 to monitor the UN arms embargo on Libya, and the EU extended its mandate to 2029 and tasked it with monitoring and containing the Russian phantom fleet in the Mediterranean. Irini’s mandate was renewed in October until March 31, 2029, and the mission had objectives including helping “limit” Russia’s shadow fleet, which Irini says uses the Mediterranean as a “key transit and transfer zone.”
Moscow response and dispute
Russia rejected the expansion of Irini’s mandate, and the source quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova calling the measure a “flagrant violation of international law.” Kallas’s announcement was framed as a “confirmed” result that the tanker was sailing under a false flag, and the boarding was carried out pursuant to Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Zakharova described the term “phantom fleet” as a political invention with no legal basis, and Moscow reserved “all legal and other measures.”
Kallas’s claim that the boarding confirmed that the MV MIDAS was sailing under a false flag was reported alongside a description of the tanker as a “suspect tanker belonging to the Russian ghost fleet.” Brussels had not clarified where the boarding took place, who owns the ship, or what it was carrying, leaving those details unresolved across the accounts.