British military intercepts Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Channel

British authorities intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the English Channel early Sunday, according to the Ministry of Defence, as reported by AFP.

The operation lasted approximately six hours and involved support from military aircraft, including Chinook helicopters, as well as naval assets such as the frigate HMS Sutherland.

“In the first UK-led operation of its kind, the vessel SMYRTOS was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, despite Russia's best efforts to evade sanctions and continue fuelling its barbaric war with Ukraine,” the ministry statement said.

The vessel will now be moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and monitored, it added.

“Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin's illegal war,” said defence minister Dan Jarvis.

He said the operation was carried out in “close coordination with the French”.

Disrupting the shadow fleet was “directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia's aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capacity to threaten security across Europe and beyond”, he added.

Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the UK has imposed sanctions on hundreds of vessels believed to be part of a "shadow fleet" used to evade Western restrictions. These ships, often older tankers with unclear ownership structures, are prohibited from using UK ports and receiving UK-based maritime services.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation delivered "yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin's war in Ukraine that they cannot hide".

France, Belgium, Finland and other European countries have also recently seized sanction-busting vessels believed to belong to the so-called shadow fleet.

London has said such ships are suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea on several occasions.

The government has said it will propose new legislation aimed at preventing "Russia and other hostile states" from sabotaging vital subsea internet cables.

There have been a series of sea incidents in the Baltic Sea since 2023, when undersea cables and power lines have been damaged.

Military experts and European leaders say Russia has ramped up its "hybrid war" in the strategic region -- now bordered entirely by NATO members barring Russia.

Former defence minister John Healey, who resigned this week accusing Starmer of failing to provide sufficient funding to defend Britain, said in April armed forces had tracked and deterred three Russian submarines on an alleged month-long "covert operation" in UK waters in the North Atlantic near vital undersea cables and pipelines.

Britain is connected to the rest of the world via around 64 major undersea telecoms cables.

(With inputs from AFP)