British forces given authority to board Russian shadow fleet tankers in UK waters

British forces and law enforcement officers will be able to halt, board and detain sanctioned vessels from Russia's so-called shadow fleet if they pass through UK waters, the Prime Minister has announced.

It follows the Royal Navy's support to allies in tracking vessels linked to the network across European and Mediterranean waters in recent weeks. 

Addressing the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Summit in Helsinki, Sir Keir Starmer said the UK will go after the shadow fleet "even harder", and the move will starve "Putin's war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine". 

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"We are living in an increasingly volatile and dangerous world, facing threats from different fronts across the world every day," he said.

"He and his cronies should be in no doubt, we will always defend our sovereignty and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes." 

Ready to respond 

The JEF is a UK-led military coalition of 10 northern European countries, all committed to defending against Russian incursions.

A number of JEF allies including Finland, Sweden and Estonia have carried out recent operations against the suspected illegal shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea region, while the UK supported the US operation to seize the Russian-linked tanker Bella 1 – later named the Marinera – at the beginning of the year. 

US officials had accused it of breaking sanctions by carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.  

Tip of the spear

The Armed Forces and law enforcement officers have both been conducting interdiction training in recent weeks, Downing Street said.

Possible scenarios include boarding vessels that "don't surrender, are armed or use high-tech pervasive surveillance to evade capture".

In February, Royal Marines from 42 Commando conducted a night-time boarding operation on the auxiliary ship SD Northern River as part of a two-year extensive programme that will see them ready to deploy at the forefront of Nato's special operations, training for scenarios that could soon become a reality. 

Following the detention of a ship, criminal proceedings may be brought against the owners, operators and crew for breaches of UK sanctions legislation.

It is estimated that roughly 75% of Russia's crude oil is carried aboard Russian shadow fleet vessels, many operating under false flags in an attempt to avoid maritime restrictions and remain undetected.  

Alongside its allies, the UK has imposed sanctions on 544 of these vessels as part of a wider effort to put a stop to Russia's illicit oil exports.