Labour 'dragging its feet' over seizure of sanctioned Russian ships amid money worries

Susanna Siddell
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:36:04 +0000

Labour has been accused of "dragging its feet" over seizing sanctioned Russian vessels over concerns the ships would be too expensive to maintain.

Back in March, Sir Keir Starmer vowed to "go after" the Kremlin's oil tankers flying "fake" flags as they float through British waters.

Under such plans, the National Crime Agency's special forces and officers were given permission to board vessels and seize them - yet the scheme has hit a trio of walls in SW1.

First, Government departments are believed to be at odds over whose jurisdiction the plans fall under, while the Department for Transport (DfT) has been slammed for "dragging its feet" over the plans.

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Whitehall workers are also fearing the hefty price of carrying out the PM's orders could soar to tens of millions of pounds.

They have cited a Panamanian-registered vessel, seized by the Irish back in September 2023. Maintenance, security and berthing of the ship have already swallowed more than £10million.

And, thirdly, civil servants are unsure as to where to store the gigantic tankers - if they were to even seize one in the first place.

So far, the UK has only assisted in seizing Russian tankers at sea. Earlier this year, the Royal Navy helped the US to take on the tanker Marinera.

It provided reconnaissance as well as a support vessel.

The British also helped during an operation in which HMS Dagger supported French forces by tracking a Russian vessel.

Russia’s shadow fleet is currently made up of around 700 ships, all of which are responsible for carrying 40 per cent of all Russian oil exports.

Of these 700, Britain has slapped sanctions on 544 of the vessels.

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Last November, it was revealed their vessels were flying "false" flags to dodge sanctions originally placed on Moscow's fleet over the Ukraine war.

To conceal their true identity, the vessels change their names, flags, electronic identities, as well as their owners to dodge any sanctions from the West.

More often than not, they are poorly maintained vessels, prone to oil spills and generally are a security threat to nearby nations.

Accurate and truly representative flags are legal requirements for ships at sea under maritime law - and are deemed a form of fraud.

Just a day after Sir Keir cracked the whip over the matter, an oil tanker was spotted sailing through British waters just one day later.

The VAYU 1 was as close as six nautical miles off the coast of Dover.

When asked why the vessel had not been stopped, the Ministry of Defence said "any enforcement action is considered on a case-by-case basis".

The oil tanker set off from Murmansk, Russia on March 10 and first sailed into UK waters on March 26.