French Release Russian Tanker After Million-Euro Payment - Liepāja Port Just Laughs

The French navy proudly announces that it intercepted and then released the Russian shadow fleet tanker 'Grinch' after its owner paid a multi-million euro fine. At Liepāja port, hearing this news, they just smiled - here they've long known that the best way to recognize a fake flag is to check if the ship has 'Made in Murmansk' written on it.

The ship, sailing from Murmansk under a fake Comoros flag, was escorted to a French port for additional checks. As our dockworker Valdis comments: 'At our Karosta, such a ship would be spotted from a distance. Our tram driver could tell with closed eyes which ship is sailing with real documents and which isn't.' Indeed, when in Liepāja even the tram knows more about maritime affairs than French admirals.

French Minister Barro proudly announced that 'circumventing European sanctions comes at a price.' But Liepāja trader Uldis just sighs: 'Million euros for one ship? At our Central Market, for that money you could buy the entire port, including the seagulls.' While Riga is still figuring out how to tell a tanker from a tin boat, Liepāja has long known - if a ship smells like oil and the captain speaks with an accent, better not ask for documents.

Meanwhile, the ship 'Grinch' is still at the French coast, presumably waiting for someone to explain why it has to pay so much money for sailing under the wrong flag. In Liepāja such a question wouldn't even arise - here everyone knows that the right flag is the one that doesn't have 'Putin rules' written on it.