STORY
UK forces have boarded a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the English Channel in the first UK led operation of its kind against Russia’s shadow fleet. The Government said Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency officers boarded the vessel Smyrtos after it entered UK territorial waters.
The Ministry of Defence said the operation lasted six hours and was supported by Royal Navy and RAF assets, including HMS Sutherland, HMS Ledbury, Maritime Air Group aircraft and an RAF P 8 aircraft. The vessel is to be held and monitored off the south coast while investigations continue.
The Prime Minister said the action was intended to disrupt Russia’s war economy. Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said the operation had been carried out by armed forces personnel and law enforcement officers and formed part of wider UK action against Russian sanctions evasion.