The British government has defended its seizure of a Russian-linked “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the English Channel after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to respond in kind, the BBC reported.
The tanker Smyrtos is currently anchored in Weymouth after Royal Marines boarded the vessel in June in an operation described as the first of its kind aimed at disrupting a sanctioned tanker.
The vessel’s captain, Ajay Pant, has been accused of violating Russian oil sanctions by allegedly facilitating the direct or indirect supply or delivery of prohibited Russian oil.
Putin, speaking while overseeing Russian naval exercises in the Pacific, criticized Western countries over what he described as the “seizure of our ships,” calling such actions “nothing other than piracy and banditry.”
Western governments accuse Russia of operating a so-called shadow fleet consisting of hundreds of vessels used to circumvent international sanctions imposed on Russian oil exports following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The vessels are alleged to rely on complex ownership structures, flags and other tactics designed to obscure the origin of their cargo and conceal links to Russia.
The UK Ministry of Defence estimates that Russia’s shadow fleet consists of more than 700 vessels, which it says transport around 75 percent of Russia’s sanctioned oil.
According to the ministry, revenue from these exports represents a “critical lifeline for the Kremlin” and helps support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The seizure of the Smyrtos comes amid growing Western efforts to disrupt Russia’s shadow fleet and tighten enforcement of sanctions, while Moscow has repeatedly condemned such measures as unlawful interference with Russian shipping.
