By Alessandro Parodi and Nerijus Adomaitis
PARIS (Reuters) -French police have arrested the Chinese captain of a sanctioned tanker suspected of operating for Russia's "shadow fleet", authorities said on Thursday, after the navy boarded the vessel anchored off western France.
Prior to sailing toward France, the Boracay, was approximately 50 nautical miles (90 km) south of Copenhagen on September 22 when drone activity forced the closure of the city's airport around 1830 GMT, according to data from MarineTraffic.
It was also observed heading south along Denmark's western coast on the evening of September 24 when drones were reported flying north of Esbjerg and near several nearby airports.
French and Danish authorities have yet to say whether the vessel, which has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union, is suspected of involvement in the drone incursions.
Brest Prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger, whose office is handling the investigation into the Boracay, said the vessel was boarded last Saturday by a French Navy frigate off the coast of the island of Ouessant.
The vessel's crew provided inconsistent information about its nationality during interactions with French maritime authorities, with the French Navy eventually concluding it was unflagged, Kellenberger said.
The ship's captain and first officer, both Chinese nationals, were arrested for failure to justify the vessel's nationality and refusal to comply with the orders of a commanding officer during a ship inspection at sea, he said.
However, the Brest prosecutors office has only decided to prosecute the captain for failure to comply, and released the first officer, Kellenberger said. His hearing is scheduled for February 23. Any other investigative angles fall outside the remit of the Brest prosecutor's office, Kellenberger added.
MACRON CHEERS PROBE
President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed the probe into the vessel, estimating that Russia's "shadow fleet" contains 600 to 1,000 ships. On Thursday, he said it was important to get to the bottom of what happened in Denmark, adding that Russia's shadow fleet represents an important part of Moscow's business model and pressure should be placed upon it.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday it had no information about the vessel but added that the Russian military had to act sometimes to restore order when foreign countries had taken what spokesman Dmitry Peskov described as "provocative actions."
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Makini Brice; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Richard Lough and Hugh Lawson)
