Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › World News › UK officials expect Russia to retaliate for seizure of...
World News

UK officials expect Russia to retaliate for seizure of shadow fleet oil tanker

The Guardian Politics Wednesday 17 June 2026, 18:47 UTC By Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor 1 min read
Key Points

No formal warning issued to captains or ship owners, but industry body says they are exercising greater vigilanceBritish officials believe Russia will try to retaliate for the Royal Marines’ seizure of the oil tanker Smyrtos, prompting UK ship owners to exercise greater vigilance until tensions with Moscow ease. Military sources said the UK had considered possible responses to a seizure of the vessel carrying Russian crude worth $40m (£30m) to India, and anticipate that the Kremlin will want...

No formal warning issued to captains or ship owners, but industry body says they are exercising greater vigilance

British officials believe Russia will try to retaliate for the Royal Marines’ seizure of the oil tanker Smyrtos, prompting UK ship owners to exercise greater vigilance until tensions with Moscow ease.

Military sources said the UK had considered possible responses to a seizure of the vessel carrying Russian crude worth $40m (£30m) to India, and anticipate that the Kremlin will want to hit back.

Continue reading...
UK (LOCATION) Russia (LOCATION) the Royal Marines (ORG) Smyrtos (PERSON) Moscow (LOCATION) Russian (ORG) India (LOCATION) Kremlin (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian Politics Read original →

Related Stories

U.S. Will Waive Oil Sanctions That Have Long Crimped Iran

An oil facility on Kharg Island, Iran, in 2017.

NYT World 6m ago

Initial US-Iran agreement leaves many key issues to be negotiated

Trump has insisted the deal ensures that Iran will never buy, develop or produce a nuclear weapon. But text of the agreement falls short of that.

BBC World 6m ago

Row between Elon Musk and German broadcaster ZDF sparks major controversy

German broadcaster ZDF has reacted to a cease-and-desist suit from Elon Musk, deleting a line from a programme intro over his links to UK right-wing activist Tommy Robinson. The dispute between US tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and the public broadcaster ZDF is causing a major stir across Germany. In its coverage of last week's anti-immigrant riots in Belfast, an edition of "ZDFheute live" said that Musk had called for "a migrant hunt" in his social media posts about Northern Ireland.

Euronews 10m ago

Fed keeps rates unchanged but signals possible hike this year

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its first policy meeting under chair Kevin Warsh, but nearly half of policymakers signalled they could support a rate hike later this year as inflation remains elevated. The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday and signalled a more hawkish outlook, with nearly half of policymakers indicating they could support at least one rate hike before the end of the year as inflation remains stubbornly high. In an...

Euronews 11m ago