• grue@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Wouldn’t raising a Russian flag make it more legitimate to seize, not less?

    • MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io
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      1 day ago

      I don’t think so. Iirc, there is no sanction against Russian tanker ships, the sanction is on the Russian oil they carry. I’m no expert on maritime law, but I raising the Russian flag puts it under the auspices of the Russian government, so Russia has the right defend it under international law (it had a submarine escort) and lay claims against crimes against the vessel. It makes capturing the vessel a choice to get into a (additional) political entanglement with Russia.

      This incident may also have implications to the convention of freedom of navigation . I don’t know. Again: not an expert