First Russian shadow fleet tanker enters English Channel since UK seizure

First Russian shadow fleet tanker enters English Channel since UK seizure A Russian shadow fleet tanker has entered the English Channel for the first time since UK forces seized the Smyrtos early on Sunday A Russian shadow fleet tanker has entered the English Channel for the first time since UK forces seized the Smyrtos early on Sunday, ship-tracking data show. Russian-flagged tanker MV Forwarder has been in the Channel since Wednesday afternoon after leaving Primorsk - Russia's largest Baltic Sea port - loaded up with oil last week, the BBC reported, citing satellite imagery. Ship tracking software suggest a Royal Navy ship is following the tanker through UK waters. Ship-tracking data appear to show a Royal Navy patrol vessel, HMS Tyne, operating in the area near the Forwarder's location. The Russian tanker, which was sanctioned by the UK, the US and the EU in 2025, is broadcasting its final destination as Dongying port in China. It is the first time a UK-sanctioned shadow fleet vessel has sailed in the Channel since the seizure of the Smyrtos by Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency. Following the first UK-led operation to detain a sanctioned vessel, tracking data showed a number of sanctioned ships changing course to avoid the Channel, the BBC reported. The Mirror has approached the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for comment. It comes after the captain of the Smyrtos - which was carrying 98,000 tonnes of oil - appeared in court charged with breaching sanctions. Ajay Pant, a 38-year-old Indian national, has been charged with directly or indirectly supplying or delivering by ship prohibited oil or oil products from Russia to a third country in June 2026, in contravention of Regulation 46Z9B of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Pant appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court by video link from Bournemouth police station on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing, during which he spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and gave his address as being in India. He also gave no indication of his plea and his solicitor, James Diamond, requested the case be sent to the Crown Court. District Judge David Robinson, who appeared via video link from Portsmouth, sent the case for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on July 16 and remanded Pant in custody until then. The court heard that the oil tanker was part of Russia’s "clandestine fleet of 700 ships" which acted as its "lifeline" by transporting 75 per cent of its oil and helping fund the war against Ukraine. The MV Smyrtos has been formally prevented from leaving the UK. The 24 crew members, from Georgia and India, remain on board the ship, which is anchored off Weymouth in Dorset.