By Reuters

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The Chinese captain of a tanker from Russia’s “shadow fleet” is to be tried in a French court early next year for refusing to comply with orders from French authorities, prosecutors said on Thursday.
The captain and first mate of the Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union off France, were detained on Tuesday for refusing to provide evidence of nationality or cooperate with French authorities.
The captain has been summoned to appear in court in February, but the first mate has been released, said the public prosecutor’s office in the northwestern city of Brest.
The vessel, the Boracay, was around 50 nautical miles (90km) south of Copenhagen on September 22, when drone activity forced the closure of the city’s airport, 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.
“Thanks to our Navy commandos and to the crews of the French navy who intervened this weekend on board a Russian shadow fleet tanker, currently anchored off Saint-Nazaire,” Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote on social media. “Their action contributed to the arrest of two members of its crew.”

Brest Prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger, whose office is handling the investigation into the Boracay, said in a statement that the two people in custody had identified themselves as the ship’s captain and its first officer.
Accused of failing to provide proof of the vessel’s nationality and comply with orders, the captain and first officer had their detention extended, he said.
Although President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed the probe into the vessel, estimating that Russia’s “shadow fleet” contains 600 to 1,000 ships, French authorities have been tight-lipped about the investigation.

The Boracay, which has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union, left the Russian port of Primorsk on September 20, according to MarineTraffic data.
French and Danish authorities have declined to comment on whether the French probe is related to the drone incursions.
Macron said on Thursday 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”.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse