British forces given green light to seize Russian 'shadow fleet'

RUSSIAN ships in UK waters will face the threat of being boarded by Royal Navy officers in a move which will ratchet up global tensions amid the war on Iran. The UK Government announced on Wednesday evening that British officers will now be given permission to board ships in the so-called shadow fleet operating within the UK’s marine boundaries. Russia has been able to undermine widespread sanctions imposed in light of its illegal invasion of Ukraine by operating a fleet of aged oil tankers with obscure ownership or insurance. This means that it is able to bypass a price cap on Russian oil exports. The UK Government hopes the new regime will mean that Russian shadow fleet vessels will need to take longer, costlier routes to their destinations – undermining the economic gains – or face capture by British forces. Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin was “rubbing his hands at the war in the Middle East because he thinks higher oil prices will let him line his pockets”. The Kremlin earlier this month welcomed Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on countries buying Russian oil, which US treasury secretary Scott Bessent described as a “tailored, short-term” move to ease the economic impact of America and Israel’s illegal war on Iran. The Ministry of Defence set out how ships will be monitored by “law enforcement, military and energy market specialists” before a recommendation on whether to board is issued to ministers. If a ship is detained, criminal proceedings could be brought against its owners, operators and crew for breaching British sanctions legislation. READ MORE: Chinese firm's £1.5bn Highland wind farm factory blocked by UK Government The UK Government said that around 75% of Russia's crude oil is transported by the shadow fleet. The move threatens to bring Britain into closer confrontation with Russia after more than four years of brutal war in Ukraine. It comes as Starmer travels to Helsinki, Finland, for a summit with national leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) on Thursday. The JEF, a military coalition of 10 northern European countries led by the UK, aims to defend against Russian incursions. It also includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. British forces have already been involved in tracking shadow fleet vessels for several years, and have supported operations by other countries to seize the ships. In January, the UK assisted in the seizure of the oil tanker Marinera by the US. Previously known as the Bella-1, the Russian-flagged vessel was captured by American forces aided by RAF aircraft and the British supply ship RFA Tideforce in the Atlantic before being taken to the Moray Firth. Later that same month, Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Dagger helped the French seize another sanctioned ship, the Grinch, in the western Mediterranean, shadowing the vessel through the Strait of Gibraltar. Last week, the French intercepted the Deyna oil tanker in the Mediterranean, supported by the UK. Libyan authorities have meanwhile towed a suspected shadow fleet oil tanker found drifting in the Mediterranean which was believed to have been hit in a drone strike. The tanker, carrying liquefied natural gas, was towed to avoid a spill in the Mediterranean.