Two sanctioned tankers, part of Russia’s shadow fleet, made transit through British waters on Monday, The Independent can confirm.
The AURA 1 and INA, two crude oil tankers, crossed into British parts of the North Atlantic Ocean over the weekend, according to MarineTraffic. The two vessels could be seen transiting around 60km apart from each other as they headed in opposite directions near the Hebrides as early as 7am on Monday morning.
AURA 1, flying under a Panamanian flag, departed from Russia’s Ust-Luga cargo port on 9 April and crossed into British parts of the North Sea on Saturday before 3pm, transiting through the Scottish isles as part of its passage to Port Said, Egypt. The tanker was one of the latest to be sanctioned by the Foreign Office (FCDO) on 24 February.
INA entered British waters on Sunday just before 5pm after it left Port Said at the end of March to make its transit in the opposite direction. FCDO sanctioned the tanker, currently flying under a Cameroonian flag, in May last year.
Both tankers have a history of AIS gaps, where ships switch off their transmitters, and high-risk ship-to-ship transfers in which sanctioned vessels exchange goods during the night or in areas identified with illicit activities, common evasion practices used to circumvent UK financial sanctions.
The sanctioned vessels are among the latest to enter the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone following a government crackdown on Russia’s shadow fleet. Sir Keir Starmer announced last month that Britain’s commandos would be able to board and halt Moscow’s shadow fleet vessels as they ferried oil to support its war in Ukraine through UK waters, yet none have been seized so far.
More than 120 sanctioned vessels have sailed through British waters since the prime minister announced the crackdown, The i reported on Sunday.
Black Sea fleet frigate Admiral Grigorovich accompanied two shadow fleet vessels along England’s southern coast on Wednesday while British tanker RFA Tideforce followed behind.
The government has insisted it is taking a hard line against the shadow tankers after it declassified reports last Thursday that the UK had tracked three Russian submarines which loitered over critical undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic for a month before retreating.
Defence secretary John Healey warned Russian president Vladimir Putin: “We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
Following Mr Healey’s warning, defence minister Luke Pollard said Russian warships escorting their shadow fleet vessels “shows how vulnerable they now are” after the UK authorised the Royal Navy to board and interdict sanctioned ships if they enter British waters.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The UK is disrupting and deterring shadow fleet vessels and their harmful maritime activity, and since October 2024 we have challenged over 700 suspected shadow fleet vessels.
“We will not comment on specific operational planning or give a running commentary as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against these ships, only benefitting our adversaries.
“Any target ship will be individually considered by law enforcement, military and energy market specialists before an operation is executed.”
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