France, Jan. 15 -- On 1 October, 2025, French military personnel boarded the rust-streaked tankerBoracayjust off the Bay of Biscay, after the captain, a Chinese national commanding a largely Chinese crew, ignored repeated orders to stop.

He was detained, and French prosecutors opened an investigation for refusal to obey a "lawful signal" and failing to prove the ship's nationality - rendering it effectively stateless under international law, and boardable without flag-state consent.

On paper, the ship was registered in Benin, but this registration was marked "false" by therelevant shipping registries-the official records maintained by a flag state that document a vessel's nationality and ownership, granting it the right to sail under th...