British marines 'champing at the bit' to seize Russia-linked shadow fleet tanker

During January, Lloyd's List Intelligence recorded 23 shadow fleet vessels operating with false or fraudulent flags in the English Channel and Baltic Sea.

The majority of these ships are involved in transporting Russian crude, primarily by sea to China, India and Turkey.

Moscow’s “shadow fleet” is a secret network of ships used to dodge Western sanctions on Russian oil exports.

The vessels attempt to evade capture by transporting the oil on aged tankers with deliberately obscure ownership or insurance.

Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin from the Royal United Services Institute described these vessels as "a collection of old, poorly maintained ships that are opaquely owned, often underinsured and flying flags from jurisdictions either with weak controls or enforcement efforts, increasingly taking up false flags".

Last month, the UK joined Germany, France and other Nato nations bordering the Baltic and North seas in signing a joint declaration insisting that all vessels transiting these waters must "strictly comply with applicable international law".

Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd's List, explained: "The Royal Navy could challenge any number of ships under maritime law because they are in fact stateless.

“But they haven't, because there are escalatory risks."

Despite this, a briefing for MPs and peers last month covered Russian threats and Arctic security, where the readiness of Britain’s armed forces was laid bare.

One attendee reported that the Marines were "champing at the bit" to receive orders to board a vessel, per The Guardian.

Last month, Britain aided the French navy in seizing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker, with French authorities stating the mission in the Mediterranean had been "conducted in co-operation with our allies", including the UK.

The Russian tanker, Grinch, was travelling from the Arctic port of Murmansk and was sanctioned by the UK, US and EU at the time of the seizure.

Defence Secretary John Healey has now confirmed to GB News that British forces were involved in the operation.

Mr Healey said: "Deterring, disrupting and degrading the Russian shadow fleet is a priority for this Government.

“I can confirm that the UK has provided tracking and monitoring in support of the French operation to board the tanker Grinch.

"This support included HMS Dagger monitoring the vessel through the Straits of Gibraltar.

"Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels, to choke off the funds that fuel Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine."

A month ago, American forces also pursued the Marinera tanker from the Caribbean to the North Atlantic, ultimately seizing it in waters between Scotland and Iceland with British assistance.

The vessel had initially been operating under a false flag but was re-registered as Russian during the chase in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid capture.

It comes as declining global oil prices, partly driven by increased Venezuelan supply, are damaging the Russian treasury.

Yuliia Pavytska, a sanctions specialist at the Kyiv School of Economics Institute, reported that Kremlin oil and gas revenues "fell by 24 per cent in 2025" to 8.5trillion rubles.

These revenues represented just 22 per cent of state income in 2025, a dramatic decline from 41 per cent in 2022.

More than 200 Russia-linked shadow fleet vessels remain operational, though Moscow's conventional fleet is expanding and now handles 51 per cent of export volumes.

Ms Pavytska noted the EU is contemplating a complete prohibition on maritime services such as insurance for Russian ships, which she argued would be "very painful" for Moscow, especially if combined with military enforcement.

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