British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that armed forces boarded the Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel, supported by Chinook helicopters, a frigate, a mine hunter, and other aircraft. The operation, the first of its kind by the UK intercepting a shadow fleet vessel, is part of efforts to prevent vessels from evading sanctions and funding Russia's war in Ukraine.
Sunday morning at 12:09 Jerusalem, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that British armed forces boarded the Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel, supported by Chinook helicopters, a frigate, a mine hunter, and other aircraft. This marks the first time UK armed forces have physically intercepted a shadow fleet vessel, adding operational details to an operation first disclosed earlier in the day.
As The Zioneer reported at 11:10 Jerusalem, Starmer initially announced the successful interception. The thread began at 09:17 Jerusalem with the UK Ministry of Defense announcing its forces raided a tanker from Russia's shadow fleet in the English Channel, and Starmer stating he ordered the operation. The current update adds that the boarding involved naval and air assets including a Chinook, frigate, and mine hunter, and identifies the vessel as Smyrtos.
The shadow fleet refers to vessels Russia uses to evade Western sanctions on oil exports, with revenues reportedly funding Moscow's war in Ukraine. The UK has stepped up such interdictions in recent months, as The Zioneer reported on June 10, 2024, regarding a Ukrainian strike on a shadow fleet tanker in the Black Sea.
The exact location and cargo details remain unconfirmed in this report, and no mention of resistance or casualties has been made.
4 developments
- StrongFrance seizes Russian shadow fleet tanker off Sicily coast, Macron says
- DevelopingRussian Foreign Ministry spokesperson warns UK embassy in Moscow in wake of English Channel warship incident
- DevelopingRussian 'shadow fleet' suspected of launching drones over European military sites
- DevelopingUkraine says it struck a Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker in the Black Sea
Source and signal
- Open-source intake