Two Russian shadow fleet tankers spotted crossing British waters
Two sanctioned tankers, part of Russia’s shadow fleet, passed through British waters on Monday. Independent can confirm.
According to MarineTraffic, two crude oil tankers AURA 1 and INA passed into the British parts of the North Atlantic Ocean over the weekend. The two ships could be seen passing about 60 kilometers apart as they headed in opposite directions near the Hebrides as early as 7am on Monday morning.
Flying under the Panamanian flag, AURA 1 departed the Russian cargo port of Ust-Luga on April 9 and passed through the Scottish islands as part of its passage to Port Said, Egypt, before moving into British parts of the North Sea before 3pm on Saturday. The tanker was one of the last tankers sanctioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FCDO) on 24 February.
INA entered British waters just before 5pm on Sunday after leaving Port Said at the end of March for a reverse transit. FCDO sanctioned the tanker, which currently flies under the Cameroonian flag, in May last year.
Both tankers have a history of AIS loopholes, where ships turn off their transmitters, and high-risk ship-to-ship transfers, where sanctioned ships exchange goods overnight or in areas identified with illicit activity, and widespread smuggling practices used to circumvent UK financial sanctions.
The sanctioned ships are among the latest to enter Britain’s Exclusive Economic Zone following the government’s crackdown on Russia’s stay-behind fleet. Sir Keir Starmer announced last month that Britain’s commandos could board and intercept Moscow’s shadow fleet ships carrying oil through British waters to support its war in Ukraine, but so far none have been seized.
More than 120 sanctioned ships have passed through British waters since the Prime Minister announced the restrictions. I It was reported on Sunday.
Black Sea fleet frigate Admiral Grigorovich escorted two shadow fleet ships along England’s southern coast on Wednesday, while British tanker RFA Tideforce followed suit.
The government has insisted on taking a tough line against the shadow tankers after last Thursday declassified reports that Britain had been tracking three Russian submarines that roamed over critical undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic for a month before withdrawing.
Defense Minister John Healey warned Russian President Vladimir Putin: “We see your activities on our cables and pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
Following Mr Healey’s warning, defense secretary Luke Pollard said Russian warships escorting shadow fleet ships “show how vulnerable they are at the moment” after Britain gave the Royal Navy the power to board and interdict sanctioned ships if they enter British waters.
A Ministry of Defense spokesperson said: “The UK disrupts and deters shadow fleet ships and their harmful maritime activities and we have challenged more than 700 suspected shadow fleet ships since October 2024.
“We will not comment on specific operational planning or provide ongoing commentary as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against these ships and would only benefit our adversaries.
“Any target ship will be individually evaluated by law enforcement, military and energy market experts before an operation is conducted.”
