Royal Marines board Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in English Channel

Royal Marine Commandos boarded a Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker in the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Marines joined by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers, with the support of the RAF, intercepted and boarded the Smyrtos in a six-hour operation - the first of its kind by UK armed forces.

The vessel will be held and monitored off the south coast of England as investigations continue, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

NCA officers arrested an Indian national, 38, on suspicion of sanctions offences under the Russia Regulations and he was taken into custody.

The NCA said 24 Georgian and Indian crew remained aboard and were "assisting with the investigation".

There was no immediate response from Moscow, which has previously described similar interceptions as illegal and "bordering on international piracy".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide."

In video footage shared by the MoD, armed personnel can be seen boarding the vessel by fast-roping from a helicopter.

Further videos show them conducting searches of cabins aboard the vessel, while officers from the NCA inspect paperwork.

Russia has been operating a "shadow fleet" to evade international sanctions imposed on its oil exports.

Responsible for carrying 75% of Russia's sanctioned oil, the fleet of more than 700 vessels provides a critical lifeline for the Kremlin, the MoD said.

The prime minister announced in March that British armed forces were "now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters".

The MoD said the UK had sanctioned more than 500 vessels.

The sanctions ban the vessels from entering UK ports and also prohibit British firms and individuals from providing financial, insurance or brokerage services to ships that supply or deliver Russian oil.

According to tracking website MarineTraffic, Smyrtos sails under a Cameroon flag and is at anchor off the coast of Weymouth in the English Channel.

It began its journey on 5 June from Russia's Ust-Luga port, an oil terminal near St Petersburg, before crossing west into the channel on Saturday, BBC Verify has found.

The vessel was sanctioned in July 2025 and has since changed its name from Myrtos to Smyrtos as well as the flag it sails under twice.

The MoD said the operation happened in international waters as it was more than 12 nautical miles from the UK coast.

It said it was in full compliance with both domestic and international law.

The interception was the result of weeks of military and political planning, an MoD spokesman said.

The ministry said the footage had been captured after forces took control of the vessel.

A spokesperson told the BBC a camera crew had boarded the tanker after initial forces "cleared it" and ensured filming could be conducted safely, and they denied any of the footage contained "staged" or repeated activities.

At one point in the source footage, a voice can be heard saying "rolling" and asking a commando to "hold that" while a search is being conducted.

In another shot, the camera is in front of armed troops moving tactically down some stairs.

"There were multiple points at which personnel fast-roped onto the vessel, including when some were already on board, which could then be captured," the spokesperson said. They also said the relevant camera operator was a serving Royal Marine Commando.

"We won't go into operational details for the protection of personnel, but the footage collected shows the level of diligence and detail required to safely clear such a vessel upon boarding by Royal Marines."

It comes after a week of resignations over the government's defence investment plan (DIP), which is set to be published before the Nato summit next month after months of delay.

John Healey resigned as defence secretary on Thursday, warning that the level of military spending proposed by Sir Keir fell "well short" of what was needed to protect the UK.

Al Carns also resigned as armed forces minister, telling the prime minister that the DIP was "neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded".

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC the prime minister "had been clear" with his cabinet that they "had to find more money for defence", adding that discussions on the DIP were ongoing.

She told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the government had to "transform the way we do defence spending, so that what we're spending is fit for the threats we face now and in the future".

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the MoD needed as much as £28bn in extra funding over the next few years, adding that cutting welfare had to be "a big part of it".

The operation on Sunday was supported with aircraft from the Maritime Air Group and an RAF P-8 aircraft, as well as HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury.

Carns told the BBC the operation would have involved armed forces personnel "flying low level over the sea, rearing up before the ship, fast roping onto the ship, securing it and then taking it into our territorial waters".

He told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that now the UK had performed its first boarding of a Russian shadow fleet vehicle, "we're probably going to see more, should the opportunities present themselves".

Responding to the interception on Sunday morning, Attorney General Richard Hermer said: "This government made clear that we would pursue Russia's shadow fleet under the full force of international law."

The government has said it is targeting Russia's oil revenues to "choke off funding for Russia's war machine" in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the UK for "taking this important step against Russia's oil fleet".

He wrote on X: "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."

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition, paid tribute to the "brave" military personnel, adding: "I support the Government in standing with Ukraine."

The operation was conducted in close co-ordination with the French, the MoD said, building on recent support provided by the UK to its allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on 1 June that his country's military had intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia's shadow fleet with UK support.

A British helicopter provided support during the operation, the MoD told the BBC.