The move allows UK Armed Forces and law enforcement officers to interdict vessels that have been sanctioned by the UK while operating in national waters. It follows recent Royal Navy activity supporting allies by monitoring and tracking such ships across European and Mediterranean regions.
“The British military will be able to board shadow fleet vessels transiting UK waters as the UK steps up its pressure on Putin. The Prime Minister has agreed that the UK Armed Forces and law enforcement officers will now be able to interdict vessels that have been sanctioned by the UK and are transiting through UK waters,” the government said.
The announcement coincides with Starmer’s participation in the Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Helsinki, where regional security and responses to Russia were discussed. Several partner nations, including Finland, Sweden and Estonia, have recently conducted operations targeting suspected shadow fleet vessels in the Baltic Sea.
By joining these efforts, the UK aims to restrict access to key maritime routes, including the English Channel, for sanctioned ships. Officials said this would force operators to take longer and more costly routes or risk detention by British authorities.
“We are living in an increasingly volatile and dangerous world, facing threats from different fronts across the world every day. As Prime Minister, my first duty is to keep this country safe and protect British interests here and abroad,” Starmer said.
“Putin is rubbing his hands at the war in the Middle East because he thinks higher oil prices will let him line his pockets. That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder, not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine,” he added.
“He and his cronies should be in no doubt, we will always defend our sovereignty and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Starmer said.
The UK government said the Arctic and High North remain strategically important due to their role in global trade and infrastructure. It warned that Russia’s Northern Fleet could threaten critical lifelines, including food supplies, energy flows, undersea data cables and transatlantic communication routes.
UK military forces have tracked shadow fleet vessels for several years and supported earlier U.S. operations, including the seizure of the tanker Bella 1. Following that operation, ministers directed the development of plans for similar interdictions involving Russian-linked ships.
Authorities said personnel have been preparing for a range of operational scenarios, including boarding non-compliant or armed vessels and countering surveillance tactics used to evade detection. Each operation will be assessed individually before approval and execution.
“Each target ship will be individually considered by law enforcement, military and energy market specialists before a recommendation is made to ministers and an operation is executed,” the government said. “Following the detention of a ship, criminal proceedings may be brought against the against the owners, operators and crew, for breaches of UK sanctions legislation.”
Officials estimate that around 75 percent of Russia’s crude oil is transported through the shadow fleet. The UK, alongside its allies, has imposed sanctions on hundreds of such vessels and is calling for increased coordination to disrupt their operations further.
