The Russian Navy's frigate Admiral Grigorovich escorted 6 ships linked to Russia in April, including at least 3 ships under economic sanctions passing through the Dover Strait in the east direction. This group of ships was continuously monitored by 4 British warships and helicopters.
According to naval observers, this frigate is still in the North Sea. The ship can maintain its presence near the UK thanks to supplies near the Galloper wind farm off the coast of Suffolk.
Another Russian frigate, Admiral Kasatonov, passed through the English Channel in late April to escort 2 cargo ships believed to be heading towards Syria's Tartus. One of the two ships, Sparta, is believed to be involved in weapons transport activities.
This train was monitored by the British logistics support ship RFA Tideforce.
A month ago, British Defense Secretary John Healey said that the country's navy had monitored 3 Russian submarines in a month-long operation. These submarines moved above gas pipelines and submarine cables near British waters, likely to be aimed at spying on seabed infrastructure.
Security expert Elisabeth Braw of the Atlantic Council research organization said: "This is completely disproportionate. The Navy usually only escorts ships when there is a clear military threat, such as from the Houthi forces in the Red Sea.
On March 25, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a statement saying that the country's military could confiscate ships subject to economic sanctions when passing through British waters.
This statement seems to be aimed at emphasizing the ship confiscation rights that Britain already has under maritime law, and confirming that the government has agreed on an inter-sectoral process to assess potential confiscations.
However, since then, Britain has not deployed the confiscation of any oil tankers belonging to the "dark fleet", likely due to being deterred by the presence of Russian warships nearby.
Some other European countries have seized ships of the "dark fleet" this year, although it is unclear whether any ships were escorted. Sweden has temporarily detained 5 oil tankers, of which the nearest one, Jin Hui, was inspected by authorities last weekend on suspicion of flying a fake flag.
France arrested 2 oil tankers related to Russia with British support this year, but both were later released after the ship owner paid a fine. At the end of February, Belgian special forces, with French support, also arrested a oil tanker heading towards Russia. Prosecutors said the ship was flying a fake Guinea flag.
The US arrested the oil tanker Bella 1, also known as Marinera, in early January with the support of the UK. According to published information, this ship was escorted by a Russian submarine. The ship moved towards Venezuela in the context of US blockade.
