London – U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision last month to let the British military board ships of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” has had no clear impact on the number passing through U.K. waters, a Reuters analysis shows.
In the month after Starmer’s March 25 threat, at least 98 Russian vessels subject to U.K. sanctions transited its waters, about the same as each of the last three months. There has been no announcement of any boarding or detention of the ships, which typically have an opaque ownership structure and can transport oil, grains and arms, often in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
LSEG tracking data shows that 63 ships passed within 12 nautical miles of the coastline in the English Channel, the most direct route between the Baltic Sea and southern Europe. Another 35 traveled through Britain’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, mainly around north Scotland.
