The UK armed forces can board and seize sanctioned Russian oil tankers if they enter British waters, the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced today.
“The UK armed forces and security agencies will now be able to intercept UK-sanctioned vessels transiting British waters,” including the English Channel, known as the British Sea, according to the statement from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office.
The UK has sanctioned 544 vessels suspected of belonging to a clandestine network of Russian tankers, known as the Russian “ghost fleet,” composed mostly of older tankers.
The Russian “ghost fleet” has allowed Russia to circumvent Western assessments since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The United Kingdom will close its waters, forcing vessels to take longer voyages or risk being seized.
“Operators will be forced to divert to longer and more expensive routes, or risk being intercepted by British forces,” according to the statement, with each operation subject to British government approval.
Following the interception of a shipment, criminal proceedings may be brought against the owners, operators, and crew for violating UK sanctions legislation, according to the statement.
Keir Starmer is expected to address the new crackdown on the Russian “ghost fleet” on Thursday during a summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force (an alliance led by the United Kingdom and composed of ten northern European countries) in Finland.
The decision to board and seize sanctioned vessels comes at a time when the United States has announced a temporary suspension of some restrictions on Russian oil.
The lifting of restrictions on Russian oil aims to mitigate the price increases caused by the Middle East conflict, triggered by the Israeli and US attack on Iran on February 28th.
Keir Starmer said, quoted in a statement, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “thinks that rising oil prices will allow him to get rich.”
“That’s why we are further cracking down on his ghost fleet,” he added.
According to the statement, 75% of Russia’s crude oil is transported by the “ghost fleet.”
