Russia's "shadow fleet" undeterred by Starmer's threats, ships continue to pass through British waters
Kyiv • UNN
Following Starmer's threats, 98 vessels of the Russian Federation's shadow fleet were recorded in British waters. The movement dynamics of the sanctioned ships remained unchanged.
Despite UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to allow inspections of Russian "shadow fleet" vessels, the number of such passages through British waters has not significantly changed. At least 98 vessels were recorded in the month following the statement. This is stated in a Reuters analysis, reports UNN.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision last month to allow the British military to conduct inspections of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" has had no noticeable impact on the number of vessels passing through British waters. In the month following Starmer's threat on March 25, at least 98 Russian vessels subject to UK sanctions passed through its waters, roughly matching the figures for each of the last three months,
LSEG monitoring data shows that 63 vessels passed within 12 nautical miles of the coastline in the English Channel — the shortest route between the Baltic Sea and Southern Europe.
Another 35 vessels passed through the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the coast, mostly around northern Scotland.
"Action must be taken quickly regarding vessel inspections, otherwise these ships will conclude that it was an empty threat — and that is exactly the unfortunate situation we are in now,"
Other European countries, including France, Belgium, and Sweden, have inspected and detained Russian "shadow fleet" vessels in recent months.
The Kremlin claims that sanctions against its ships are illegal and called the UK's latest policy an "extremely hostile step" that could lead to retaliatory measures.
Analysts say the UK's lack of enforcement reflects several challenges, including the absence of a specialized law enforcement coast guard unlike France or Sweden, as well as legal and economic complexities associated with dealing with such a large number of vessels.
As a reminder
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated the need to block Russia's "shadow fleet" to increase pressure. Hundreds of entities have already fallen under sanctions, including 48 "shadow fleet" vessels and Transneft.