UK forces seize Russian-linked oil tanker in English Channel

British forces seized the oil tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel on Sunday after a pre-dawn raid involving Royal Marines commandos, National Crime Agency officers, Chinook helicopters, a Royal Navy frigate and a minehunter. The vessel, flagged in Cameroon and carrying about 700,000 barrels of Russian oil from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga to Egypt, was boarded and escorted to waters off Dorset, where it remains anchored pending safety checks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation dealt a blow to Russia’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine. The National Crime Agency also arrested an Indian national on suspicion of sanctions violations. The crew, consisting of 24 Georgian and Indian nationals, stayed aboard the ship.

The seizure is the first UK-led boarding of a ship from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” a network of tankers used to evade Western sanctions. Defence analyst Alexander Lord noted that while sanctions have raised costs for Moscow, Russia continues to export oil at discounted prices to markets such as India and China, often using complex ownership structures to avoid detection.

The action follows a March decision authorising British forces to stop, board and detain sanctioned vessels in British waters. Since then, the UK has sanctioned more than 500 shadow-fleet ships, contributing to a reported 24 % drop in Russian oil and gas revenues in 2025 compared with the previous year. Similar interdictions have been carried out by the United States, France, Finland, Sweden and Estonia.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United Kingdom for the step, while Russia has not issued a public response. Analysts say the seizure is unlikely to markedly reduce Russia’s overall oil exports but may increase shipping costs and force some tankers to take longer routes around the UK, adding roughly 500 nautical miles to journeys to the Suez Canal.