On Sunday, the UK made good on its warnings. As Keir Starmer put it, British forces have put an end to a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Channel. The whole thing was called for by the PM and is aimed at the kind of financing London claims is propping up the conflict in Ukraine.
Why the interception matters
To the British side, this was no ordinary stop. Starmer sees it as a thorn in Moscow’s side and a word to anyone else who would be an enabler of what’s happening in Kyiv. Then there’s Dan Jarvis, the Defence Secretary, who makes the case that you can’t have a war without money, and Russia’s shadow fleet is where they get it.
There is also the law to consider. The MoD is at pains to point out that everything done in our waters was by the book, in every sense of the term. You could say it’s a way of ensuring the action can be defended and to put off any would-be copycats.
What happened in the Channel
It was in the small hours when Royal Marine Commandos and some of the NCA’s top officers made their way onto the SMYRTOS, per the MoD. They did so while the ship was in the process of running the gauntlet of the English Channel.
You can count on them to keep the vessel and an eye on it from the south coast until they have all the answers. On X, Starmer was clear: we’ve had a success here and we won’t let those 'fueling Putin's war in Ukraine‘ get away with it by being unforthright about their shipping.
Assets and execution
This wasn’t a one-trick operation. You had the Maritime Air Group and an RAF P-8 in the air for the surveillance and to tie things together. Down in the water, HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury were on hand to lend some heft to the proceedings.
Put it all together and you see a plan to find, follow and board the ship without incident. It is also a show of force: the UK will put its best people and kit to work on sanctions if need be, and with little notice.
Official signals from London
The message is for Moscow and for the middlemen. ‘Yet another blow to Russia,’ is how Starmer put it, with thanks to the team. For Jarvis, the network is part and parcel of the war machine, and stopping it is a way of hitting the purse strings.
Here is where London’s leadership stands on the issue:
– The PM gave the order.
– We went after a Russian shadow fleet tanker.
– We did it within the law, at home and abroad.
– The ship is in our hands and under observation.
‘We will not let them hide,’ was the line from Starmer. And Jarvis to back him up: ‘Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine.’
Legal footing and what comes next
By making a point of our jurisdiction in these waters, the government is nipping any argument in the bud. They are confident in the position they are in as the questions are asked.
The SMYRTOS is where it is for now, off the south coast. No one is putting a date on it, but with the level of scrutiny and the inquiries going on, more could be in store once we see what is in the records and on the deck.
Then there is the wider picture. For those trying to run the numbers in European waters under the weight of sanctions, the stakes are higher. With the kind of assets we put in play, the UK is saying that if you think you can be covert in one of the most active sea lanes in the world, you will be met with resistance.
