Kyiv’s Allies Must Flex Their Military Muscles Against Russia’s Shadow Fleet |
British politicians have been talking tough, having assisted the United States Coast Guard’s seizure of the oil tanker Marinera, formerly Bella 1, after pursuing it from the Caribbean across the North Atlantic. After almost four years of sanctions against Russia’s oil industry, London belatedly claims to have identified the legal basis for the use of military force against such ships in the future.
Britain should seriously consider further boarding operations in its home waters. It has the military muscle to conduct them. On a visit to Finland, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper promised “assertive action." Not to be outdone, Defense Secretary John Healey reminded parliamentarians that “deterring, disrupting and degrading” the so-called Russian shadow fleet was a government priority. It remains to be seen whether it will actually be treated as one.
The seizure of Marinera shone a public spotlight on the shadow fleet of vessels used by Russia to transport sanctioned oil, avoid G7 price caps and breach maritime safety regulations.
Russia uses different measures to transport its oil to market by sea while avoiding Western sanctions of the ships, their owners, end purchasers, dodgy oil traders and insurers. Avoidance measures include opaque ownership arrangements, chopping from flag to flag, electronically falsifying ship identities,........