Royal Marine commandos and National Crime Agency officers stormed a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel before dawn on Sunday, in the first UK-led operation of its kind. The six-hour boarding of the vessel, the Smyrtos, which was sailing under a false Cameroonian flag, marks an escalation in Britain’s efforts to choke off the revenue financing Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had ordered the armed forces to intercept the tanker as it tried to sail into the Channel. “This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” Starmer wrote on X. He thanked those involved, “including our armed forces and law enforcement officers who keep this country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
“Royal Marine commandos and NCA officers board Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in UK-led Channel operation.”
The Smyrtos is one of about 700 vessels in a shadow fleet that carries 75 per cent of Russia’s oil exports, providing what analysts say is a critical lifeline for the Kremlin’s war chest. The Ministry of Defence described the operation as a “blow to Putin’s war chest”, conducted in coordination with aircraft including Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters, an RAF P-8 surveillance plane, and the navy ships HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.
Dan Jarvis, who became defence secretary on Thursday after the resignation of John Healey, praised the operation. “Operations like this require skill, professionalism and courage,” Jarvis said. “Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin’s illegal war.”
The tanker is now anchored off the coast of Dorset, near Weymouth, where authorities said it would be monitored for environmental or safety concerns. The UK had previously supported the French military in a similar interdiction in the Atlantic, but Sunday’s mission was the first time Britain led such an operation itself.