Is Britain able to stop ships from the shadow fleet?

United Kingdom of Great Britain decided to extend its powers Armed Forcesh to ships subject to sanctions. The new regulations are intended to make it possible to retain units of Russian "shadow float" passing through British waters.

New rights for vessels subject to sanctions

The British armed forces and the cleaning services have been authorised to detain and carry out inspections of vessels subject to sanctions that move through the waters of Great Britain. This decision forms another part of the actions to limit the functioning of the Russian so-called "Shadow fleets"used to transport oil from which the sale is financed by the war in Ukraine.

In recent weeks, Royal Navy vessels have supported allies in monitoring the movement of suspicious individuals in European and Mediterranean waters. For action against associated vessels avoidance of sanctions The Baltic Sea countries have also joined, including Finland, Sweden and Estonia.

The closure of British waters, including the La Manche Canal, for sanctioned units is intended to force operators to choose longer routes or to expose themselves to detention by the British fleet.

According to data provided by the British side, about 75% of Russian oil is transported by the used units from the "shadow float". The United Kingdom and its allies have already sanctioned 544 vessels associated with this operation. In the event of detention, criminal proceedings against its owners, operators and crew membersand.