In the dark secrecy of the night, Royal Marine Commandos dropped from a Chinook helicopter onto the deck of a nearly 250-metre-long oil tanker in the English Channel, launching the first UK-led operation of its kind against Russia’s shadow fleet.
The vessel, the Smyrtos, was first sanctioned in July 2025 and is one of 700 ships in a shadow fleet responsible for carrying 75% of Russia’s sanctioned oil. The six-hour operation, supported by aircraft from the Maritime Air Group (Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat), an RAF P-8 aircraft, and HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury, saw specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency board alongside the Royal Marines.
“British forces boarded a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the Channel, Starmer says it delivers another blow to Russia.”
Dramatic footage released by the Ministry of Defence shows soldiers stealthily descending from a Chinook around 3am, while another clip captures Royal Marines armed with KS-1 rifles entering the vessel, prowling through cabins empty of people. The Russian crew onboard was unarmed, no shots were fired, and there were no injuries.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation delivers “another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling (President Vladimir) Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide”. He added: “I want to pay tribute to all those involved, including our armed forces and law enforcement officers who keep this country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
The Smyrtos has been detained and will be provisionally moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England, where it will be monitored for any environmental or safety concerns. The Prime Minister agreed in March that British Armed Forces and law enforcement officers could board shadow fleet vessels in accordance with international law.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “grateful” to the UK for the operation. In a post on X, he said: “It was Russia’s hubris, fueled by high oil and gas revenues, that paved the way for this war, and every decision by partners that deprives Russia of money also limits the war…”
The shadow fleet provides a critical lifeline for the Kremlin, generating a war fund that supplies missiles and drones targeting Ukrainian civilians and sustaining Putin’s illegal war.