UK seizes Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker – what that means
UK’s Royal Marines conduct first-of-its-kind operation in the English Channel, causing other tankers to turn around. British forces have seized a Russian-linked oil tanker suspected
UK’s Royal Marines conduct first-of-its-kind operation in the English Channel, causing other tankers to turn around. British forces have seized a Russian-linked oil tanker suspected of breaching sanctions while transiting the English Channel on Sunday, in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as a significant setback for Moscow’s efforts to fund its war in Ukraine. “This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” Starmer wrote in a post on X on Sunday. Following the raid, officers from the Crime Agency (NCA) arrested an Indian national on suspicion of sanctions offences, while the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the seizure of the tanker Smyrtos. The operation marks the first UK-led operation in which its forces have boarded and detained a vessel from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” – a network of hundreds of tankers used to transport Russian oil and circumvent Western sanctions imposed following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Here’s what this means. What happened? According to the vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic, an oil tanker named Smyrtos, carrying 700,000 barrels of Russian oil and sailing under a Cameroonian flag, departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on June 5 and was bound for Port Said in Egypt. The Smyrtos is recorded as being owned by a Hong Kong-registered company, Zhao Yao Shipping Ltd, which owns several other sanctioned tankers as well. Its management company is listed as being in Tamil Nadu state, India. The MoD said Royal Marines commandos and NCA officers boarded the tanker in a predawn raid on Sunday, descending onto the vessel with ropes from Chinook helicopters, and supported by other military aircraft, a Royal Navy frigate and a minehunter. The NCA said 24 Georgian and Indian crew members remained aboard the vessel, which is now anchored off the Dorset coast. The operation lasted six hours.
The tanker will be moved to England’s south coast and monitored for any environmental or safety concerns, the ministry said. The operation was carried out successfully despite a Russian warship, the Admiral Grigorovich, being close by. The frigate has been stationed close to the UK since April and has escorted many Russian tankers through the English Channel. It is not clear how close to the Smyrtos it was at the time of the raid. Following the raid, at least six other tankers immediately changed course away from the English Channel. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the UK in a post on X for “taking this important step against Russia’s oil fleet”. Russia has not publicly commented on the incident. Why does Russia use ‘shadow-fleet’ tankers? Along with other Western nations, Britain has barred vessels linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” from entering its ports and prohibits British companies from providing insurance, brokerage or financial services to ships transporting Russian oil, which remains a crucial source of revenue for Russia amid its war effort in Ukraine. Alexander Lord, a defence analyst at London intelligence firm Sibylline, told Al Jazeera that sanctions have increased costs and complications for Moscow but have not completely prevented Russia from continuing to export large volumes of oil. “Russia has a significant customer base and continues to trade its oil at a heavy discount, particularly to countries such as India and China,” Lord said. “The sanctions are undoubtedly causing problems for the Russian economy. But we are now well into the fifth year of the full-scale invasion [of Ukraine], and Russia is still exporting large quantities of oil. “Russia is constantly trying to find loopholes to protect its fleet, using shadow-fleet vessels, changing names and ownership structures to circumvent sanctions and investigations.” Why has the UK acted now? Many observers say the real question is why the UK hasn’t acted before now. The move follows a March announcement by Starmer that UK authorities would be empowered to stop, board and detain sanctioned vessels transiting British waters.
The BriefWire