British Army intercepts Russian Shadow Fleet tanker in English Channel | Today’s news
British authorities detained a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the English Channel early Sunday, according to the Ministry of Defence, as reported by AFP.
The operation lasted approximately six hours and involved support from military aircraft, including Chinook helicopters, as well as naval assets such as the frigate HMS Sutherland.
“In the first UK-led operation of its kind, Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained officers from the National Crime Agency boarded the vessel SMYRTOS, despite Russia’s best efforts to avoid sanctions and continue to fuel a barbaric war with Ukraine,” the ministry said.
The vessel will now be moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and will be monitored, he added.
“Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine, and our ban has dealt a blow to Putin’s illegal war,” said Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis.
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According to him, the operation was carried out in “close coordination with the French”.
The disruption of the shadow fleet “directly affected the resources sustaining Russian aggression in Ukraine and reduced its ability to threaten security across Europe and beyond,” he added.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK has imposed sanctions on hundreds of vessels believed to be part of a “shadow fleet” used to circumvent Western restrictions. These ships, often older tankers with unclear ownership structures, are banned from using UK ports and receiving UK-based maritime services.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation dealt “another blow to Russia and reminds those who support Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide”.
“Hybrid War”
In March, the British government announced that its armed forces and law enforcement agencies would be authorized to board and detain sanctioned vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet while passing through British waters. The policy was introduced after Washington temporarily eased some restrictions on Russian oil exports in an effort to moderate soaring energy prices triggered by the US-Israel conflict with Iran, AFP reported.
France, Belgium, Finland and other European countries have also recently seized sanctions-busting vessels believed to belong to the so-called shadow fleet.
London said such ships are suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea on several occasions.
The government said it would propose new legislation aimed at preventing “Russia and other hostile states” from sabotaging vital undersea internet cables.
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Since 2023, there have been a series of maritime incidents in the Baltic Sea where submarine cables and power lines have been damaged.
Military experts and European leaders say Russia has stepped up its “hybrid warfare” in a strategic area – now entirely bordered by NATO members except Russia.
Former defense secretary John Healey, who resigned this week and accused Starmer of failing to provide enough funding for Britain’s defence, said in April that the armed forces had tracked and deterred three Russian submarines in an alleged month-long “covert operation” in UK waters in the North Atlantic near vital undersea cables and pipelines.
Britain is connected to the rest of the world by around 64 major undersea telecommunications cables.
