Royal Marines have boarded and seized a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel for the first time, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
Posting on X, Starmer said the seizure was “yet another blow to Russia” and reminds those supporting Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine “that we will not let them hide”.
The Ministry of Defence said Royal Marine commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency were involved in the boarding which took six hours, and was supported by aircraft from the Maritime Air Group, an RAF P-8 aircraft, as well as HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.
The Smyrtos tanker has now been moved to anchor off the south coast in Portland, Dorset, tracking data shows.
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