
The offense of failing to register and refusing to comply will be punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros.
France is preparing to double the penalties for failure to flag and refusal to comply, aiming to fight against the Russian ghost fleet and the evasion of oil sanctions.
AI-generated summary
Paris intends to toughen its legislation. France will double the penalties applicable to offenses of failure to flag and refusal to comply in order to strengthen the means of combating the ships of the Russian ghost fleet, according to consistent sources.
The offense of failure to flag as well as the refusal to comply will be punishable by two years of imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros, i.e. double the penalties currently provided for, according to the preliminary draft update of the military programming law, consulted on Wednesday April 8 by AFP.
These penalties will now also be applicable "to the owner, the operator or their legal representative or de facto manager if it is a legal entity, to any person other than the captain exercising, in law or in fact, a power of control or direction in the operation of the vessel", specifies the text.
Up to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of 700,000 euros
These penalties can be increased to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of 700,000 euros in the event of endangering the people responsible for boarding the ship.
The toughening of the legislation aims to strengthen the means to fight against the Russian ghost fleet, which allows Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions against its oil sales linked to the war in Ukraine, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Since the end of September, the French Navy has boarded three oil tankers (the Boracay, the Grinch and the Deyna) belonging to this fleet.
Some 598 ships suspected of being part of the ghost fleet are subject to European Union sanctions.
Presented on Wednesday to the Council of Ministers, the bill updating the 2024-2030 military programming must be debated in Parliament for adoption hoped for before July 14.
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