British forces intercepted an oil tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Channel on Sunday morning. That reports British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Labour) in a statement. The operation, which lasted six hours, saw British Marines and National Crime Agency officers board the ship.
According to Starmer, the “successful operation deals a new blow to Russia.” The prime minister added that the interception shows “those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine” that “we will not allow them to hide.”
With the interception of the ship, the Smyrtos, the British are making use for the first time of the authority introduced at the end of March by the Starmer government to board ships from the Russian shadow fleet in British waters.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the ship, the Smyrtos, is anchored off the south coast of England. It remains there under supervision due to possible risks to safety or the environment. Out shipping details it turns out that the Smyrtos is now off the coast of Dorset. Since October 2025 it has been on a British site sanctions list.
The 2009 ship is owned by a Hong Kong company and sails under the Cameroonian flag. In all likelihood, that flag is false. According to maritime trade publication Lloyd’s List, the Smyrtos was removed from the shipping register by Cameroon at the beginning of June.
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By using an extensive shadow fleet, Russia tries to avoid international oil sanctions. In a press release about the interception of the Smyrtos, the British government stated that the shadow fleet numbers more than 700 ships and carries 75 percent of all sanctioned Russian oil.
The British action is in line with an increasingly tough European approach to the Russian shadow fleet. Earlier this year enterden Belgian and French militaries also sanctioned a ship. According to the Starmer government, the interception “sends a clear message to Russia” that the United Kingdom will use “all legal means at its disposal” to enforce sanctions against Russia.
