Dozens of sanctioned Russian tankers freely pass through the English Channel, despite British sanctions - BBC
Kyiv • UNN
42 sanctioned Russian tankers passed through the English Channel after the UK received legal assurances regarding their detention. Among them were the tankers Sofos and "Nasledie", which were sanctioned by the UK Foreign Office in May 2025.
Despite Great Britain's promises to "tighten the noose" around Russia, dozens of sanctioned Russian tankers are passing through the English Channel. This is reported by UNN with reference to BBC.
Details
According to journalists, earlier this month, the British government received legal guarantees that such vessels could be detained. However, 42 sanctioned tankers calmly passed through the strait after this information was made public.
Among them was the Sofos - a tanker sanctioned by the British Foreign Office in May 2025. It passed through the English Channel after a voyage from Venezuela and headed to Russian St. Petersburg.
Ship tracking data shows that Sofos loaded oil in Russia in mid-November, after which it sailed to Turkey and then to Venezuela, where it turned off its tracking signal.
The tanker "Nasledie", which is over 20 years old, also entered the English Channel in January. In May 2025, the vessel was sanctioned by Great Britain - since 2023, this ship has been part of the shadow fleet.
Currently, British forces have not independently seized any vessel of the shadow fleet. This is despite the fact that since the beginning of January, six tankers passing through the English Channel under false flags have been detected.