Cameroon demands removal of mention of its flag in the case of the detained “shadow fleet” tanker

The country’s authorities said they had removed the vessel from the international register almost three weeks before it was detained by the British military.

This was reported by Business Insider Africa. Cameroon has denied information that the Smyrtos tanker was on its ship register after the vessel was detained by the UK on suspicion of transporting Russian oil in circumvention of sanctions.

Cameroon’s Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, said that the vessel with IMO number 9389100 no longer has the right to fly the country’s flag.

According to him, the tanker was removed from Cameroon’s International Ship Register on May 25, 2026, as part of a campaign to clean up and strengthen control over the use of the national flag.

Following the vessel’s detention by British forces on June 14, Cameroonian authorities have asked the British government, Reuters and other parties involved in the incident to update information on the vessel’s legal status and remove any mention of it being registered in Cameroon. The Smyrtos tanker was carrying around 700,000 barrels of Russian oil. The vessel was en route from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to the Egyptian port of Port Said when it was intercepted in the English Channel. After that, the “shadow fleet” tankers began to avoid the English Channel.