Britain has intercepted a tanker belonging to Russia's shadow fleet for the first time

The United Kingdom carried out its first-ever operation to intercept a tanker belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the English Channel. On Sunday morning, June 14, Royal Marines, together with officers from the National Crime Agency, boarded the SMYRTOS, a vessel the Russian Federation uses to circumvent sanctions. 

The complex military operation lasted six hours and was conducted in close coordination with French authorities. A large-scale aviation group was deployed for the operation, including Chinook, Merlin Mk4, and Wildcat helicopters, as well as a Royal Air Force P-8 aircraft, while the warships HMS SUTHERLAND and HMS LEDBURY provided security at sea. 

The intercepted vessel will be temporarily towed to an anchorage off the southern coast of England, where experts will conduct a thorough inspection for environmental threats and security risks in accordance with national and international law.

British Defense Minister Dan Jarvis emphasized that Russia relies heavily on its “shadow fleet” to finance military operations in Ukraine, so this operation is a direct blow to the Kremlin’s illegal war. The UK Ministry of Defense also added that this successful move builds on recent experience working with allies, when Royal Navy and Royal Air Force assets were deployed to support similar operations by the U.S. and France to intercept Russian vessels subject to sanctions.

This was officially reported by the British Ministry of Defense.

Armed guards have appeared on tankers belonging to the Russian Federation’s shadow fleet.

Russia’s shadow fleet transports oil under false insurance policies – Bloomberg

As a reminder, France plans to significantly increase penalties for ship owners and operators who use false flags or ignore orders to stop.