Six Russian ships flee Channel in 77 minutes after UK seizes Putin shadow tanker

At least six sanctioned Russian ships aborted attempts to pass through the English Channel in the hours after the UK’s dramatic seizure of one of the Kremlin’s shadow tankers. In less than 80 minutes, six oil tankers understood to be operating on behalf of Moscow had peeled away from their intended course around the southern edge of England, according to analysis by The i Paper. Three vessels performed sharp U-turns back in the direction of Scandinavia and Russia, while the others adjusted their courses west to veer towards Ireland, rather than continuing north-east in the direction of the English Channel. The frantic scramble of the six ships – the Lion I, Sona, Qasr, Pate, Maini and C-Viking – began at around 8:48am on Sunday and lasted for about 77 minutes. All the vessels feature on the UK Sanctions List for reasons including helping to “destabilise Ukraine” or because they “benefit the government of Russia”, however they travel under other flags including Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Some eight hours before, British forces boarded a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the English Channel. The detention of the Smyrtos, carrying some 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil worth an estimated £45m, is the first time Britain has led an interception of a so-called shadow fleet vessel. In March, Sir Keir Starmer announced that British armed forces had been given permission to board sanctioned vessels passing through UK waters after receiving updated legal advice. But the move, which would have seen Britain follow countries such as France, Sweden and Finland in seizing the tankers, was followed by an uncomfortable hiatus. The Sona made a clear U-turn this morning after the seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Russia, according to MarineTraffic (Photo: MarineTraffic) This paper previously revealed that at least 205 sanctioned tankers had sailed through UK waters between Starmer’s announcement on 25 March and the end of last month. The term “shadow fleet” applies to the more than 700 vessels being used by Moscow to get around western measures designed to hobble its fossil fuel exports. The system uses ships owned through hazy offshore structures, often sailing under the protection of obscure flag states and eschewing Western maritime services such as insurance. Many of the vessels are consequently beyond what would be considered the maximum serviceable age by Western oil companies, raising fears over maintenance and the potential for an environmental catastrophe should an accident ever happen in the Channel, the world’s busiest shipping lane. At an inspection last year, the Smyrtos was found to have 18 deficiencies, including fire safety risks and engine problems. The Lion I dramatically adjusted their course away from the UK (Photo: MarineTraffic) The six-hour, pre-dawn operation Downing Street said the six-hour, pre-dawn British operation, which involved Royal Marine commandos and specialist National Crime Agency officers boarding the Smyrtos from helicopters, had been designed to disrupt Russia’s vastly lucrative oil trade. Since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow is estimated to have made at least £654bn in revenues from oil sales, of which about 75 per cent has been facilitated by shadow fleet tankers. Starmer, who has been under pressure to display Britain’s military resolve following the resignation of John Healey as defence secretary over the delayed blueprint for overhauling UK forces, said: “This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide.” Britain’s coastal waters, and in particular the English Channel, represent a vital conduit for the Kremlin’s ability to mobilise Russia’s huge fossil fuel reserves to fund the Ukraine war. A steady stream of tankers ploughs a route from Russia’s two main oil terminals on the Baltic Sea, Primorsk and Ust-Luga, and passes by the British coast en route to destinations including India and China. The military operation to intercept the Smyrtos was designed to disrupt Russia’s vastly lucrative oil trade (Photo: Royal Navy/Ministry of Defence Crown Copyright) Many vessels, including the Smyrtos, also conduct so-called STS or ship-to-ship transfers whereby two vessels meet in open seas to pump oil from one vessel to the other as part of a strategy to obscure the origin of cargoes. Not all suspected shadow fleet vessels active around the UK appeared to have abandoned their routes, according to this paper’s analysis of data from MarineTraffic, a maritime intelligence and vessel-tracking platform. At least two sanctioned craft, the Solaris and Norelia, snuck through the Channel in the early hours of this morning after already entering the busy shipping lane. On Sunday afternoon, the Norelia, which is listed as being en route to Port Said in Egypt from the Russian port of Primorsk, was about to pass beyond the coast of Cornwall and head down around the coastal edge of northern France. Tracking software shows the oil tanker had been moving at a fast pace before slowing down at around 4:30am as it approached the site of the seized ship. Its speed dropped from 14.6kn down to 10kn as it got even closer, before speeding up again to around 16kn as it passed further into the Channel. One passing vessel, already traversing the English Channel at the time of the seizure, dropped its speed while passing near the site of the operation (Photo: MarineTraffic) Kremlin’s ships scramble Two of the six ships that changed course, the Qasr and Maini, were sailing from Russia to ports in Egypt. Another, Sona, was also headed there but from Sudan. The C-Viking and Lion I tankers had not declared a destination. Data stating a vessel’s destination can not always be relied upon, as it is declared by the ship itself. The sixth vessel, Pate, which has appeared to adjust its course to travel towards Ireland on Sunday morning, said it is travelling from the Indian port of Chennai and was en route to a small marina in Croatia near the popular tourist destination of Split. This would be an unusual destination for a 245m long oil tanker, as photos of the local marina show it is populated with small fishing boats and hobby sailing boats. The Pate is around 1,300 miles away from its declared destination of a small marina in Croatia (Photo: MarineTraffic) Tracking software showed the Pate has bypassed Croatia entirely and is now more than 1,300 miles as the crow flies over land, or 2,600 nautical miles via the waterways, away. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the seizure of the Smyrtos, which is being held at anchor off Weymouth while investigations continue, was the result of weeks of military and political planning. Former defence minister Al Carns acknowledged that identifying suitable shadow fleet targets had been complicated by the fact that Russia has in recent weeks deployed naval vessels to escort tankers through the Channel. Evidence has also emerged that Moscow has started placing guards, including ex-members of Russian intelligence agencies and mercenary groups, on some of the vessels carrying oil cargoes. The NCA declined to comment on whether arrests had been made on board the Smyrtos. Shadow fleet vessels, which have also historically served as shipping providers for Iranian and Venezuelan oil, have previously taken advantage of rules which prevent a state from boarding or seizing a ship if it is properly flagged. However, Britain and its allies have begun exploiting a further rule which allows a ship to be boarded where there are reasonable grounds for believing a vessel is sailing without a valid flag. The Smyrtos had been sailing under the flag of Cameroon, currently one of the most prolific flaggers of shadow fleet vessels. But the vessel last week became one of 36 ships expelled from the Cameroonian register, apparently paving the way for the British operation.