UK forces including Royal Marine Commandos supported with aircraft from the Maritime Air Group have intercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker.
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Press Release, Whitehall, 14 June 2026: [extracts] British forces this morning boarded a sanctioned shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel in the latest blow to Russia’s war economy.
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 military operation, which lasted six hours, was supported with aircraft from the Maritime Air Group (Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat), an RAF P-8 aircraft, as well as HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.
The Prime Minister agreed in March that British Armed Forces and law enforcement officers were able to board shadow fleet vessels, in accordance with international law. The SMYRTOS will be provisionally moved to an anchorage off the South Coast of England and will be monitored for any environmental or safety concerns. The enforcement action against this vessel took place in international waters and was carried out in accordance with domestic and international law.
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