Royal Marines board Russian shadow tanker Smyrtos in English Channel, first such operation

The operation

In the early hours of 14 June 2026, a team of Royal Marine Commandos, supported by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers and RAF helicopters, boarded the Smyrtos in the English Channel. The six-hour operation saw personnel fast-rope from a Chinook onto the tanker's deck in darkness, with no resistance from the crew. Footage released by the Ministry of Defence shows armed commandos searching cabins and NCA officials inspecting documents. The vessel, flying a Cameroonian flag, had departed Russia's Ust-Luga oil terminal near St Petersburg on 5 June and was intercepted more than 12 nautical miles off the UK coast. The tanker is now anchored off Dorset while investigations continue. One Indian national was arrested on suspicion of sanctions offences; 24 Georgian and Indian crew members remain on board and are cooperating.

“Once we boarded the vessel and moved to the bridge, the dialogue that we had with them was professional, safe, and indeed, the crew enabled us to complete the actions to safely take control of that vessel and move it to an anchorage.”

The shadow fleet's role

The Smyrtos is among more than 700 vessels in Russia's so-called shadow fleet, which transports roughly 75% of sanctioned Russian oil, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. These ships, often old and with opaque ownership, use tactics such as flag-hopping and renaming to evade Western sanctions imposed after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The UK has sanctioned nearly 600 such vessels, banning them from its ports and prohibiting British firms from providing financial or insurance services. In March, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that UK armed forces would be authorised to board sanctioned ships passing through British waters; Sunday's raid was the first use of that power.

Political reactions

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the operation as another blow to Russia and a message to those enabling the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude for the important step against Russia's oil fleet and called on Europe to pass laws allowing not only detention of tankers but confiscation of the oil they carry, arguing this would bring peace closer. The operation was conducted in close coordination with France, which has carried out several similar interceptions since autumn 2025. Moscow did not immediately respond but has previously described such actions as illegal and bordering on international piracy.

“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.”

“Europe urgently needs to take legislative steps to enable not only the detention of tankers and restrictions on oil shipments, but also the confiscation of the oil they carry. This will certainly help bring peace closer.”

What happens next

The tanker remains under surveillance off the southern English coast as investigators examine its documents and cargo. The arrested individual could face charges under UK sanctions regulations. The UK government says the interception was the result of weeks of planning and is the first of its kind, signalling a tougher enforcement posture against sanctions evasion. Zelensky's call for broader European legislation is likely to intensify debate among EU member states on how to target the shadow fleet more effectively.