UK forces seize Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos (opens in new tab)

British forces boarded and detained the sanctioned oil tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel on June 14, in what the UK Ministry of Defence called the first UK-led operation of its kind against a vessel suspected of belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet. Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency officers took part in the six-hour operation, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he directed the interception of the tanker as it attempted to pass through the Channel. The MoD said the vessel w...