Royal Navy 'blocked from boarding Russian shadow fleet vessels' as English Channel activity increases
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Portsmouth-based ships have been keeping their beady eyes on Russian warships guarding cargo ships transiting sanctioned cargo
Sanctioned cargo aboard Russian ships are continuing to be transited through the English Channel as the Royal Navy has been “blocked” from seizing them.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the force “blocked from boarding Russian shadow fleet vessels in UK waters”. This comes a month after prime minister Sir Keir Starmer gave the green light for Commandos and sailors to join northern European allies in intercepting the tankers.
Illicit cargo including banned fuel is being transported in these ships to fund Vladimir Putin’s war machine. Despite the threats from the prime minister, no ships have been seized despite them sailing through the English Channel.
Portsmouth-based patrol vessel HMS Mersey was among the ships stalking Russian warships, shadow fleet tankers, and submarines over the past few weeks, but no confiscation operations took place. The Telegraph said Attorney General Lord Hermer told the government that special forces or National Crime Agency (NCA) officers could board the tankers, but fears persist of breaching international maritime law have meant none have been taken.
Russia is increasing its operations in the North Atlantic in Britain’s vicinity, with Gugi spy submarines spotted loitering over pipelines and undersea cables. A government source rejected the claims about the Attorney General.
Speaking to LBC, they said: “The Attorney General has been working alongside the Defence Secretary to step up action against Russian shadow fleet activity. They both recently convened representatives from Joint Expeditionary Force ally nations to discuss the legal framework for military action.”
Minister for defence readiness and industry, Luke Pollard, said declaring that the Royal Navy could seize illicit cargo ships is already having an impact. “Having to have a Russian frigate escort one of their vessels shows how vulnerable they now are,” he told Sky News.
“The UK has continued to support our allies in interdicting those Russian shadow fleets. We now know they’re taking the long way round the United Kingdom because of the actions that we are taking and, thanks to the new powers that the UK armed forces have, we reserve the right, at a time of our choosing, to interdict a Russian vessel ourselves.
“And that is the aggregate, the pressure that we’re putting on Putin and the Russian regime, because we want to slow and choke off the flow of money going into Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.”
Moscow warships sailing alongside shadow fleet ships is not an entirely uncommon occurrence. In January, the Udaloy-class destroyer Severomorsk traversed British waters alongside Russian flagged cargo ships Sparta IV and MYS Zhelaniya - carrying “sanctioned military hardware”. HMS Mersey was deployed to monitor the group’s movements.