British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office announced on March 25 that the country's armed forces will be allowed to inspect Russian oil tankers in British waters.
The move is seen as an escalation aimed at Russia's shadow fleet, that is, the network of old ships, flying fake flags, trying to evade sanctions imposed by the West on Russia.
Previously, the British Royal Navy coordinated with allies in operations targeting ships of the Russian shadow fleet.
Last week, the British Royal Navy assisted in tracking a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean. After that, the ship was inspected by the French Navy.
The British Prime Minister's new move on March 25 allows British armed forces or law enforcement agencies to go further in dealing with Russia's shadow fleet.
Currently, more than 600 ships have been put on the sanctions list by the European Union (EU), the UK and the US related to Russia's shadow fleet.
The UK's new regulations will only apply to ships on the UK's sanctions list.
It is expected that on March 26, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit Helsinki, Finland to attend the Joint Expeditionary Forces (JEF) Conference to discuss measures to deal with Russia. JEF is an alliance led by Britain, focused on maritime security and with the participation of 10 NATO members.
Some JEF members such as Finland, Sweden and Estonia have launched operations targeting ships suspected of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet in the Baltic region.
In the context of the West increasing pressure on the Russian economy, Moscow warns that direct actions against its ships could lead to direct conflict.
Mr. Nikolai Patrushev - head of the Russian Maritime Council said that Russia will deploy naval forces to protect ships related to Russia from the risk of being seized by Europe.
In January this year, British Defense Secretary John Healey also mentioned the possibility of using military options for sanctioned ships, saying that seized oil could be sold and the collected money would be transferred to Ukraine.
Also in January 2026, according to data from Lloyd's List Intelligence, 23 ships of the shadow fleet using fake flags or fraudulently operating in the English Channel or the Baltic Sea were detected. Many of these ships are related to Russian oil exports, mainly by sea to China, India and Turkey.
