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British forces boarded a sanctioned Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel early Saturday, marking the first UK-led operation of its kind and targeting a shipping network accused of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained National Crime Agency officers boarded the vessel SMYRTOS during a six-hour military operation, the British government said.
The tanker will be moved provisionally to an anchorage off England’s southern coast, where it will remain under monitoring while investigations continue.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had directed the armed forces to intercept the vessel as it attempted to pass through the English Channel.
“This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Starmer said.
He thanked the armed forces and law enforcement personnel involved in the operation.
The boarding operation involved Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency officers trained for maritime enforcement missions.
Aircraft from the Maritime Air Group, including Chinook helicopters, Merlin Mk4 helicopters and Wildcat aircraft, supported the operation.
An RAF P-8 maritime patrol aircraft also participated, along with the Royal Navy vessels HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.
The operation was conducted in close coordination with France, the government said.
Starmer agreed in March that British armed forces and law enforcement officers could board shadow fleet vessels in accordance with international law.
The government said Saturday’s enforcement action took place in UK territorial waters and complied with domestic and international law.
The SMYRTOS will be monitored for environmental and safety risks while it remains off the southern coast.
Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis said the operation required skill, professionalism and courage.
“Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund its conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin’s illegal war,” Jarvis said.
The British government said Russia’s shadow fleet includes more than 700 vessels and carries about 75% of the country’s sanctioned oil.
Revenue generated through the fleet provides funding used to supply missiles and drones for Russia’s war in Ukraine, it said.
Britain has imposed sanctions on almost 600 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet.
The government said Russian oil and gas revenue fell 24% year-on-year in 2025 and that oil revenue was down 27% compared with October 2024, reaching its lowest level since the war began.
During the first quarter of 2025, ships sanctioned by Britain transported $1.6 billion less in Russian oil than during the same period a year earlier, according to the government.
More than 72% of shadow fleet tankers are over 15 years old, and the network has been involved in more than 50 incidents, it added.
The government said Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows a warship to verify a vessel’s flag when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that it has no nationality.
When a ship is determined to be stateless, Britain can use powers available under domestic law, the government said.
Those measures include ship-sanction provisions under the Russia Regulations and criminal and maritime enforcement powers.
The operation followed UK support for previous U.S. and French actions against shadow fleet vessels, including assistance from Royal Air Force and Royal Navy assets.
The government said the boarding demonstrated that Britain would use the legal tools available to enforce sanctions and protect national and European security.
The interception came as Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces maintained a strategic advantage in the war and continued advancing along the front line.
Speaking during a televised Kremlin meeting Saturday, Putin claimed Ukraine could not stop Russian advances and had resorted to what he called “terrorist methods.”
“Our troops maintain a strategic advantage, confidently advancing, and no amount of shelling or drone strikes will change this situation,” Putin said.
He claimed battlefield developments were continuing in Russia’s favor despite Ukrainian artillery and drone attacks.
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