UK has not stepped up action against Russia's shadow fleet despite promises – BBC

Eight sanctioned tankers are travelling through the English Channel despite promises by the UK government to take decisive action against vessels of the shadow fleet, which Moscow has used to circumvent Western restrictions on its energy sector imposed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Source: the BBC

Quote: "At least eight tankers sanctioned for transporting illegal Russian oil exports are currently moving through the English Channel, despite the UK government saying disrupting the so-called 'shadow fleet' is a priority."

Details: The BBC notes that since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been using hundreds of ageing tankers with unclear ownership, known as the shadow fleet, to evade sanctions on oil exports.

"The UK government has pledged to take new 'assertive actions' against shadow fleet vessels and the BBC understands officials have received legal advice that the tankers can be boarded and seized," the BBC reports.

However, these powers have yet to be applied. On Friday morning, the vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic showed that eight tankers under UK sanctions were currently moving through the English Channel.

According to the BBC, a further four tankers appear to be heading towards the passage from the North Sea.

"Some of the tankers – such as Kusto, a 21-year-old crude oil carrier currently sailing south of the Isle of Wight – have made repeated voyages through the Channel over the past year," the BBC reports.

MarineTraffic data show that Kusto picked up a cargo 10 days ago at the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga.

Since the start of the year, dozens of other shadow fleet vessels have passed through the English Channel, the BBC says.

Background:

• The French navy detained an oil tanker travelling from Russia in neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
• It was later reported that the tanker, which is under EU sanctions for transporting Russian oil, had been stranded at sea before being escorted by a Spanish rescue vessel to a Moroccan port without being detained.
• The Monitoring Group at Ukraine's Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies reported that tankers carrying crude oil had carried out 2,346 voyages from Russian ports in 2025. The largest number, 1,111 voyages, departed from Russian ports in the Baltic Sea. Over the year, they transported well over 230 million tonnes of oil.
• Earlier, Andrii Klymenko, Head of the Monitoring Group at the Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies, stated that Russia understates the real volumes of its oil exports.
• The Monitoring Group also previously reported that US President Donald Trump's sanctions against Russian oil had an effect only for a limited time after their introduction. The "first shock effect" later faded, and Russia increased seaborne exports of crude oil from Baltic Sea ports.

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