Britain intercepts Russian oil tanker in first shadow fleet enforcement

Royal Marines and National Crime Agency officers boarded the Smyrtos, a Cameroon-flagged tanker shipping sanctioned Russian oil, in the English Channel on June 14-15. The operation marks Britain's first actual enforcement action on shadow fleet vessels—cargo ships that evade Western sanctions. These ships carry roughly 75% of Russia's crude exports. The seizure exposes a gap between declared policy and real enforcement.