Starmer orders British commandos to seize Putin’s shadow fleet vessels

Sir Keir Starmer has announced that Britain will begin seizing Russian shadow fleet ships as he steps up attempts to pressure Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

The prime minister’s announcement comes with European allies after France, Belgium and Sweden boarded Russian ships in recent weeks in a bid to cut funding for Moscow’s war.

The move means Britain’s commandos can board and intercept Russia’s shadow fleet ships as they pass through British waters.

Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to broker a peace deal with Putin, including US easing sanctions on Russian oil, there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine.

Sir Keir said Britain would join its northern European allies in cracking down on tankers in a bid to go “even harder” on ships that break sanctions.

The Prime Minister will travel to Helsinki, Finland, on Thursday for a summit with national leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

JEF, a military coalition of 10 northern European countries led by Britain, aims to defend against Russian attacks.

It also includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Moscow’s shadow fleet reportedly consists of more than a thousand obsolete tankers.

Since the invasion of Ukraine began, they have been illegally sending oil and other goods from Russia, flying the flags of other countries, in an attempt to evade Western sanctions.

JEF countries Finland, Sweden and Estonia recently intercepted suspicious shadow tankers traveling in the Baltic.

Closing British waters to the shadow fleet aims to force Russian ships to use longer, more costly sea routes or risk being intercepted by Britain.

Sir Keir said: “We live in a world that is increasingly unstable and dangerous, and we face threats from different fronts around the world every day.

“My first duty as Prime Minister is to keep this country safe and protect British interests here and abroad.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is joining the war in the Middle East because he thinks high oil prices will allow him to line his pockets.

“That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder – not only keeping Britain safe, but depriving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine.

He and his friends should have no doubt; “We will always defend our sovereignty and stand by Ukraine no matter how long it takes.”

British forces have been involved in tracking shadow fleet ships for several years and have supported other countries’ seizure operations.

In January, Britain helped seize the oil tanker Marinera from the United States.

The Russian-flagged ship, previously known as Bella-1, was captured in the Atlantic by American forces with the assistance of RAF aircraft and the British supply ship RFA Tideforce.

Later that month, the Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Dagger helped the French capture another sanctioned ship, the Grinch, in the western Mediterranean and pursued the ship through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Last week, the French stopped the British-supported Deyna oil tanker in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, Libyan authorities towed a suspected shadow fleet oil tanker that was found drifting in the Mediterranean and believed to have been hit in a drone strike.

The tanker carrying liquefied natural gas was towed to prevent it from spilling into the Mediterranean Sea.

At the JEF summit, the Prime Minister and other leaders are expected to discuss collective security in the so-called High North and the war in Ukraine.