UK seizes Russian tanker in first shadow fleet enforcement action

Royal Marines and National Crime Agency officers boarded and detained the Smyrtos, a Cameroon-flagged tanker sanctioned for shipping Russian oil, in the English Channel on June 14-15. The six-hour operation marks Britain's first actual interception despite authorizing such boardings since March. Shadow fleet vessels carry roughly 75% of Russia's crude exports and had transited freely despite the threat, but the seizure closes a gap between declared policy and enforcement.