UK seizes Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker – what that means
Key takeaways
- UK’s Royal Marines conduct first-of-its-kind operation in the English Channel, causing other tankers to turn around.
- “This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” Starmer wrote in a post on X on Sunday.
- The Smyrtos is recorded as being owned by a Hong Kong-registered company, Zhao Yao Shipping Ltd, which owns several other sanctioned tankers as well.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
UK’s Royal Marines conduct first-of-its-kind operation in the English Channel, causing other tankers to turn around.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo United Kingdom Royal Marines commandos take part in a maritime interdiction operation on the vessel Smyrtos off the south coast of England on June 14, 2026 [Reuters]By Caolán Magee Published On 16 Jun 202616 Jun 2026British forces have seized a Russian-linked oil tanker suspected of breaching sanctions while transiting the English Channel on Sunday, in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as a significant setback for Moscow’s efforts to fund its war in Ukraine.
“This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” Starmer wrote in a post on X on Sunday.