The British military intercepted a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel on the 14th of June, taking the lead in the first operation aimed at reducing the country’s ability to finance war, Reuters reports.
The ship, Smyrtos, was sailing under the Cameroonian flag and was boarded by a special unit of the Royal Navy and the National Crime Agency early on the 14th of June. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post on the X that the successful operation dealt another blow to Russia and reminded those helping Putin finance the war in Ukraine that Britain would not let them hide.
Navy Lieutenant Colonel Tom Quinn told reporters that the operation involved some risk, the special forces are trained for it, and when they boarded the ship, there was no resistance. He stressed that once the unit reached the bridge,
the dialogue with the ship’s crew was professional, safe, and the command allowed all necessary actions to be taken
so that the military could safely take control and move the ship to anchorage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude for the tanker’s detention. Kiev has long called on allies to curb Russia’s shadow fleet, which is used to profit from its aggression against Ukraine. Zelensky stressed that laws should be passed that would allow European countries not only to detain shadow fleet ships, but also to seize the oil they carry – this would help bring peace closer.
The Russian embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.
Britain has so far sanctioned nearly 600 Russian ships. Starmer in March gave the military the power to seize shadow fleet ships used by Moscow to export oil in defiance of sanctions.
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