The UK has revealed it is ready to act against Russian ‘shadow fleet’ shipping sailing in UK waters, including boarding and detaining ships if required.
According to a BBC report, approval for this military activity was given by the UK Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, on 26 March.
Broadly, Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ consists of commercial ships sailing without a valid national flag and transporting Russian oil, despite international sanctions imposed on some Russian trade exports including oil, as a consequence of its invasion of Ukraine. Export of such oil could help fund its war there.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on 26 March, UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey explained that authorisation followed a process of legal, military, and other preparations (including discussions with allies).
“What operations like this require is training, preparation, understanding discussion with allies, [and] a clear legal basis, like every military action we take: that legal basis [and] the military options are now lined up and ready,” said Healey. “It’s a signal that we will take action.”
Being ready and prepared to tackle ‘shadow fleet’ ships may be sending a wider deterrence signal to Russia, too. “We have seen Russian oil revenues fall by one quarter [since October 2024], but particularly now when [Russian president Vladimir] Putin may want to take advantage of a distraction of the Middle Eastern conflict and the rising oil price, we’re ready with allies to do more,” Healey continued. “This is a signal to Putin that he may want us to be distracted by the Middle East, but we’re ready to act.”
The UK’s commitment to its North Atlantic deterrence and defence responsibilities was reiterated earlier this month, when the government confirmed the HMS Prince of Wales carrier strike group would continue with a planned deployment to the High North on a NATO tasking, rather than responding to some political clamour to send the carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean, or further afield, in response to the current Gulf crisis.
Underlining the importance of working with allies on the ‘shadow fleet’ issue, the UK has already supported French and US boarding activities. According to the BBC, it has also worked with other countries in monitoring and tracking ‘shadow fleet’ ships, including Estonia, Finland, and Sweden.
For the UK, preparations for its own operations will have involved training specialist units to conduct interceptions, including dealing with unco-operative crews, plus also being aware of the potential presence of Russian naval vessels, which have been used to escort ‘shadow fleet’ shipping in recent months, including in the North Sea.
