Putin warns Russia could seize British ships amid ‘shadow fleet’ crackdown

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow could seize British and other Western commercial vessels in retaliation for the interception of ships linked to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, further escalating maritime tensions after UK military forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the English Channel in June.

While overseeing naval exercises involving the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet in the country’s Far East region, Putin accused European nations of violating international maritime law by targeting Russian-flagged merchant vessels, describing such actions as “piracy and banditry”.

He threatened that Moscow would “respond in kind” if European states continued seizing Russian ships and warned such retaliation could take place anywhere the Kremlin considered to be appropriate.

“If these plans are put into practice, we will have to respond in kind,” the Russian president said on 13 August. “And not necessarily in the waters where raids on our ships and vessels are planned, but wherever we deem it necessary and appropriate, anywhere.”

These comments come less than two months after British military forces seized their first oil tanker linked to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ in a first-of-its-kind operation.

They also come after the European Union (EU) adopted new sanctions against Russia in July that permitted member states to sell confiscated oil and cargo from seized Russian ‘shadow fleet’ vessels. The move further inflamed maritime tensions between Europe and Russia, with the ongoing seizures continuing to infuriate the Russian government.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) states that Russia has a fleet of more than 700 merchant vessels that are responsible for carrying 75% of the nation’s sanctioned oil exports. Since the start of the year, nine Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers have been seized around Europe under suspicion of trying to circumvent sanctions placed against Moscow.

Royal Marines seized the Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker, Smyrtos, in June

On 14 June, Royal Marines from 42 Commando and National Crime Agency (NCA) personnel boarded the sanctioned Cameroonian-flagged crude oil tanker, Smyrtos, in a maritime interdiction operation supported by Royal Navy warships and aircraft, including Merlin HC4 helicopters.

The British government said the six-hour operation intended to disrupt a network of vessels helping Russia evade Western sanctions and generate revenue to fund its continued war with Ukraine. It described the action as the first UK military interception of a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ vessel.

This morning, UK forces boarded a Russian tanker in the English Channel that was secretly helping to bankroll Putin's war in Ukraine.

The first operation of its kind led by British forces, and a clear message: there is nowhere to hide. pic.twitter.com/RQdw7bmuQw

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 14, 2026

Smyrtos was subsequently detained by the Department for Transport and anchored at a port near Weymouth in Dorset, with Reuters reporting the vessel was carrying roughly 100,000 tonnes of Russian crude oil. Meanwhile, the tanker’s captain, Ajay Pant, has been charged with breaching Russian sanctions and accused of supplying and/or delivering prohibited Russian oil.

Russia strongly opposed the seizure. Later in June, the Kremlin said Moscow would examine all available legal options if the UK sold the oil being held aboard Smyrtos. Reports suggested the UK could auction the cargo, with the proceeds potentially being used to support the defence of Ukraine.

This operation was part of a wider European campaign to counter Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ – ageing tankers and other commercial vessels that Western governments say are used to bypass sanctions and maintain Russian oil exports to help fund Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Threat of escalation as crackdown on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ intensifies

However, Putin’s latest warning appears to take the dispute beyond the individual seizure of the Smyrtos. During the naval exercises in Russia’s Far East region, Adm Viktor Liina – commander of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet – said Russian forces were prepared to “inspect and detain” vessels from countries Moscow considers to be hostile.

He also suggested the fleet was monitoring foreign commercial shipping operations and accused Western nations, such as the UK and France, of operating their own ‘shadow fleets’.

While Putin did not specifically name the UK in his remarks on 13 August, he directed his comments towards European countries. However, the timing has placed the UK’s seizure of Smyrtos firmly in the centre of the ongoing dispute.

The warning follows an earlier escalation in March, when former UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer authorised the UK Armed Forces to board and detain Russian ships in British waters as part of wider efforts to disrupt ‘shadow fleet’ operations. Moscow responded at the time by warning that the UK’s actions could have consequences and said it would consider political, legal and “asymmetric” measures.

The latest threat therefore represents a significant escalation in rhetoric. If Russia were to act against a UK-flagged merchant vessel, it could transform the increasingly aggressive sanctions campaign into a direct confrontation over commercial shipping.

For the UK and its European allies, the challenge is balancing efforts to restrict Russian oil revenues with the risk that enforcement operations could provoke retaliatory action against Western vessels operating far beyond the safety of European waters.