On September 28, 2025, French naval commandos made further discoveries after boarding the ship Boracay Off the coast of France – possibly because the ship was linked to the drone incidents over Denmark. French commandos found that the ship had a Chinese captain but also two Russians working for the Moran Security Group, a Russian private military company founded by former Federal Security Service officers. One of the Russians also previously worked in the Russian private military company “Wagner Group”.
The interviews revealed that the Russians were charged with “gathering intelligence, protecting the ship and ensuring that the captain strictly adheres to Russian interests.” According to the IISS report, this provided “direct evidence of a shadow fleet with ties to Russian intelligence structures.”
On March 30, 2026, A The French court issued a verdict He sentenced the Chinese captain in absentia to a year in prison and ordered his arrest after pleading guilty to failing to obey orders to stop his ship. The court also forced the captain to pay a fine of $172,000.
Europe’s response
The full report details the movements of individual shadow fleet vessels during various drone incidents. But the overall picture of a possible Russian drone campaign suggests that Europe’s response has so far been fragmented and uncoordinated.
The European Union is trying to develop European Drone Defense Initiative (EDDI) which will allow member countries to deploy interoperable counter-drone technologies to detect, track and shoot down or otherwise neutralize drones. But it is not expected that there will be a system fully functional By the end of 2027.
The IISS report also warns that “no amount of equipment will compensate for the lack of political authority to use it” and says European governments need better coordination to provide legal clarity on drone strikes.
Then there is the “hardest” issue of maritime liability, according to the IISS report. It would require European governments to be more prepared to investigate and stop Russian-linked ships and shadow navy vessels from operating drones near European shores with “effective impunity”.
