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Britain\u2019s armed forces have for the first time intercepted and seized control of a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker sailing in the English Channel, the British Defense Ministry said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers boarded the vessel early Sunday in a military operation that lasted six hours and that was supported by British military ships and aircraft, the ministry said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The intercepted tanker, the Smyrtos, will be held and monitored off the southern coast of England, the ministry added.<\/p>\n \u201cThis operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin\u2019s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,\u201d Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in a statement, referring to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russia\u2019s shadow fleet<\/a> is a collection of often dilapidated ships with hazy ownership that covertly moves fuel<\/a> around the globe, enabling the country to sidestep international sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n According to the British government, the shadow fleet consists of more than 700 vessels and is responsible for carrying 75 percent of Russia\u2019s sanctioned oil, giving the Kremlin an important economic lifeline.<\/p>\n Britain, which has so far imposed sanctions on more than 500 Russian shadow fleet vessels, says more than 70 percent of them are over 15 years old.<\/p>\n The interception of the Smyrtos was the first time that British forces had acted alone to stop a ship in the shadow fleet and the first such operation in the English Channel, the Defense Ministry said.<\/p>\n This year, the British military assisted the United States in seizing<\/a> an oil tanker, the Marinera, in the waters between Iceland and Scotland. American officials said the ship had violated sanctions by carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After that operation, the British government had said it was exploring how British forces could take similar action against sanctioned vessels traveling through its waters. In March, Mr. Starmer decided British armed forces and law enforcement officers could board shadow fleet vessels in accordance with international law, the Defense Ministry said.<\/p>\n The operation against the Smyrtos was conducted in \u201cclose coordination\u201d with France, building on recent collaboration between the two nations.<\/p>\n This month, President Emmanuel Macron of France said<\/a> his country had intercepted an oil tanker thought to be part of the Russian shadow fleet. That vessel, the Tagor, was detained with British support in the Atlantic Ocean, around 400 nautical miles west of Brittany. It was the fourth suspected shadow fleet vessel that France has boarded since September 2025, according to<\/a> the French authorities.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s military action comes at a sensitive moment politically. The country\u2019s defense secretary, John Healey<\/a>, and the armed forces minister, Al Carns, both quit their posts last week in a dispute over military funding plans.<\/p>\n A new British defense investment plan is expected to be published before a NATO summit scheduled for next month. But when he left the government, Mr. Healey warned that the level of military spending proposed by Mr. Starmer \u201cfalls well short\u201d of what is needed to protect Britain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That political rift came against a backdrop of growing tensions between Britain and Russia, including a series of incursions by Russian ships and aircraft around the British coast. British officials believe these were intended to test Britain\u2019s military abilities or to map critical underwater infrastructure, including cables.<\/p>\n Mr. Carns told the BBC on Sunday that British forces had not previously boarded a Russian shadow tanker partly because \u201cwe had a Russian frigate in the Channel protecting some of those ships coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was about hitting the right parameters to make sure that everything \u2014 from legal to the cargo \u2014 met the requirements for boarding,\u201d he said, while adding that more boardings were likely in the future.<\/p>\n Kirill Dmitriev, Mr. Putin\u2019s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said on social media<\/a> that a \u201cdesperate\u201d Mr. Starmer was attempting an \u201cescalation\u201d that aimed to distract British voters from concerns over irregular immigration.<\/p>\n