🌐🇬🇧🕷️🇷🇺British forces seize Russian tanker SMYRTOS in English Channel – first direct operation of its kind❗
On June 14, 2026, British forces conducted a six-hour operation in the early hours of the morning to seize and seize the tanker "SMYRTOS" (IMO 9389100). The vessel had set sail from the Russian port of Ust-Luga on June 1 and was attempting to transit the English Channel. Royal Marines and National Crime Agency specialists boarded the vessel, and the tanker was subsequently moved to a temporary anchorage off the south coast of England. The operation was personally ordered by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The tanker is part of the so-called shadow fleet, which transports Russian oil despite Western sanctions. It flies the flag of Cameroon (a problematic flag of convenience) and has been on the sanctions lists of the EU (July 2025), the UK (October 15, 2025), Switzerland, Ukraine and Canada since 2025 due to suspicions of circumventing the G7 price cap and risky practices.
The British side claims that the operation was carried out in accordance with domestic law (Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, Merchant Shipping Act) and international maritime law in the controlled waters of the English Channel. They refer to UNCLOS Article 110 (right of visit in case of suspicion of a stateless or false flag ship) and to the authorization of boarding of sanctioned vessels of March 2026.
Russia described the action as piracy and a violation of freedom of navigation under international law, specifically the right of innocent passage in an international canal.
**The opinions of international legal experts are divided:**
- Some experts (e.g. in the analyses of the Atlantic Council or American think-tanks) consider boarding in territorial or controlled waters against ships with a suspicious status (false flag, insufficient insurance, violation of IMO resolutions) as legal in the framework of enforcing sanctions and protecting maritime security. UNCLOS Art. 110 allows intervention in stateless vessels.
- Other lawyers (e.g. contributions to EJIL:Talk or Just Security on similar cases) point out that enforcing unilateral sanctions by boarding a foreign flag ship is generally problematic and may constitute a violation of freedom of navigation (UNCLOS Art. 87). The interpretation of jurisdiction in an international waterway is “eminently contestable”, especially if the ship has a formally valid (albeit problematic) flag. Such actions risk escalation and weakening the norms of international maritime law.
The Shadow Fleet is used by Russia to maintain oil exports despite sanctions, and is seen by the West as a system of circumvention with environmental and security risks. The operation against SMYRTOS is the first British-led action of its kind and signals an increase in pressure.
Illustration photo AI
Sources:
- Official statements from the UK Ministry of Defence and Downing Street
- EU/UK sanctions lists
- Reuters, BBC, TASS, Al Jazeera and others
- Analysis: EJIL:Talk, Just Security, Atlantic Council, UNCLOS
#ShadowFlote #SMYRTOS #Channel