Russia Wants to Use Its Navy Against the EU’s 'Pirate Attacks'

Russia is considering deploying its navy against the EU countries that have been boarding and seizing ships en route to and from Russia. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisor, Nikolai Patrushev.

On January 22nd this year, the French navy intervened against the oil tanker Grinch. French special forces rappelled down from a helicopter onto the vessel and took control of it while it was in international waters in the Mediterranean. The Grinch was subsequently forced into the Fos-sur-Mer bay, near Marseille.

“The operation was carried out on the open sea in the Mediterranean, with support from several of our allies,” wrote French President Emmanuel Macron on the social media platform X in connection with the mission.

Russia: Piracy

The French actions have dubious support in international law, but EU countries like France consider themselves entitled to act in this way against ships heading to or from Russia. The EU member states claim that these vessels are violating sanctions imposed by the EU. The affected ships are also often accused of being part of a so-called shadow fleet.

At the beginning of last year, Germany seized an oil tanker carrying Russian oil valued at nearly half a billion SEK. In that case, the vessel was in distress and had been towed into German territorial waters—an act with somewhat stronger support in international law.

Since then, interventions against Russian or Russian-linked ships have escalated. For some time now, vessels have even been boarded far out on international waters. For example, at the beginning of January this year, the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera was stormed by US commandos while it was in the middle of the North Atlantic.

Russia claims that what the Western powers are up to is nothing less than piracy. And that, in itself, is a violation of international law, which any individual state has the right to intervene against and stop. The intervening state is even permitted to arrest and punish pirates in any way it sees fit.

Wants to Deploy the Navy

On Tuesday, the French government announced that the Grinch has been released, after nearly four weeks in French captivity. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on social media that the shipping company was forced to pay several million euros in ransom.

For Russia, the situation with the Western nations’ seizures is becoming untenable. Nikolai Patrushev, chairman of the Russian Marine Collegium and advisor to Putin, therefore wants to use the country’s fleet to prevent more attacks on Russian shipping.

“If we don’t give them a forceful response, the English, the French, and even the Baltics will soon become bold enough to try and block our country’s access to the seas. At least to the Atlantic,” he said in an interview.

The Putin advisor simultaneously admits that the situation is “strained” for the Russian navy, as resources are limited and Russia needs more warships capable of operating independently for extended periods on the open sea.

“Along the main shipping routes, even in places far from Russia, significant forces must be present on a permanent basis, ready to stop Western troublemakers,” says Nikolai Patrushev.