UK threatens seizure of Russian shadow fleet tankers, The Guardian says

The United Kingdom is threatening to seize tankers linked to Russia's shadow fleet as part of an escalation that could open a new front against Moscow at a time when the country's oil revenues are falling sharply.

Source: The Guardian, citing British defence sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Military options for seizing vessels in violation were identified during discussions involving NATO allies, although a month has already passed since the United States seized a Russian tanker in the Atlantic Ocean.

Data from Lloyd's List Intelligence shows that 23 shadow fleet vessels using false or fraudulent flags were detected in the English Channel and the Baltic Sea in January. Many of them are linked to exports of Russian oil, primarily transported by water to China, India and Türkiye.

A joint statement published in late January and signed by the UK, Germany, France and other NATO countries bordering the Baltic and North seas stated that all vessels passing through any of these regions must "strictly comply with applicable international law". However, despite setting conditions for seizure, no action followed.

"The Royal Navy could challenge any number of ships under maritime law because they are in fact stateless. But they haven't, because there are escalatory risks," said Richard Meade, the editor-in-chief of Lloyd's List, a specialist shipping outlet.

Last month, the Royal Marines briefed British MPs and members of the House of Lords on the threat from Russia and the situation in the Arctic and the North.

One attendee said the Marines are "champing at the bit", waiting for an order to seize a vessel.

A month ago, the United States pursued the tanker Marinera from the Caribbean to the North Atlantic and, with British assistance, seized it between Scotland and Iceland. Although it initially sailed under a false flag, during the pursuit – which ended with an unsuccessful attempt to evade seizure – it was re-registered as Russian.

Background:

• On 22 January, before signing the joint statement, France detained the oil tanker Grinch off the coast of Spain. It had departed Murmansk in Russia under the flag of the Comoros, a country in East Africa, but a week later French President Emmanuel Macron told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the tanker would have to be released due to French law.
• At the end of January, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK would hold a meeting of Baltic and Nordic countries to discuss "military options that we might use". He said confiscated oil could be sold "and put into Ukraine in order to fight Putin's invasion".
• It remains unclear how much damage the seizure of one or two shadow fleet vessels would cause to Russia's economy. Since the end of November, seven shadow fleet tankers have been attacked by drones, and Ukraine claimed responsibility for four of them.
• British threats come at a time when Russia's economy appears more vulnerable than before, as the military boom fades and economic growth slows. Falling global oil prices, partly caused by increased supply from Venezuela, are harming Russia's treasury.
• In late January, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called for stronger action against Russia's shadow fleet.

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