British armed forces intercepted and boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker, the Smyrtos, in the English Channel early Sunday morning. In a six-hour operation, the first of its kind to be led by the UK, Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency took control of the vessel, which was sailing under a Cameroonian flag.
The operation was directed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and carried out in close coordination with the French, according to Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis. The Ministry of Defence stated that the enforcement action in British territorial waters was conducted in accordance with domestic and international law. The Smyrtos is a UK-sanctioned tanker suspected of being part of a fleet of often aging vessels with dubious ownership used by Russia to move fuel and evade international sanctions over Moscow's war on Ukraine.
The vessel will be held and monitored off the south coast while investigations continue. Prime Minister Starmer stated that the successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin's war in Ukraine that they will not be allowed to hide.