Belgian defense forces intercepted and boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the North Sea overnight, with French Navy NH90 helicopters providing airborne support for the operation inside Belgium’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to official statements released on March 1, 2026.
Belgium’s defense ministry said Belgian troops went aboard the tanker “with the support of two French NH-90 helicopters” in the Belgian EEZ, describing the ship as “under sanctions.”
Airborne support “to enforce maritime international law”
France’s Navy said French assets intervened at sea “in support of Belgium Defence to ensure respect for international maritime law,” adding that French forces provided “air support.”
Footage released by the French Navy shows an NH90 helicopter delivering soldiers directly onto the ship’s deck: the helicopter approaches at low altitude, stabilizes over the deck, and drops a boarding element while maintaining a position to support the team and monitor the ship’s upper works. In contested or ambiguous encounters, airborne overwatch can also provide immediate situational awareness, communications relay, and a rapid extraction option.
📍Mer du Nord | Intervention en mer de moyens de la @MarineNationale, en appui de @BelgiumDefence 🇧🇪 pour faire respecter le droit international maritime
— Armée française – Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) March 1, 2026
🚁 Les armées 🇫🇷 ont fourni un appui aérien à leur partenaire 🇧🇪, attestant d’une excellente coordination entre nos armées.… https://t.co/fqYMxBbTv2 pic.twitter.com/Ut7l4Bu1ZZ
European coordination in the North Sea
The French statement framed the mission as a European engagement in support of maritime security and the enforcement of international law, explicitly referencing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said the operation, dubbed Blue Intruder, resulted in the tanker being brought to Zeebrugge “for seizure,” thanking France for its support and praising the troops involved for “courage, precision, and determination.”
RTBF reported that the ship boarded by Belgian forces, identified as the tanker Ethera, has been listed since October 2025 on the EU register of vessels whose activity is to be restricted, on the grounds that it is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet or contributes to Russian energy revenues used to finance the war against Ukraine.
The outlet said EU documents describe Ethera as transporting Russian-origin crude oil, petroleum products, or mineral products while engaging in “irregular and high-risk” shipping practices, restrictions that include a ban on accessing EU ports.
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