First Russian shadow fleet vessel enters Channel since Smyrtos boarding

BBC:

A Russian “shadow fleet” tanker has entered the English Channel for the first time since UK forces boarded the Smyrtos on Sunday morning, ship tracking data shows.

Forwarder, a Russian-flagged ship that left port in Primorsk last week, entered the Channel on Wednesday evening and sailed south. It is broadcasting its final destination as China’s Dongying port.

The shadow fleet is formed of hundreds of tankers used by Russia to avoid Western sanctions imposed on its oil exports following the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

UK-sanctioned tankers have avoided the Channel since the Smyrtos was intercepted with tracking data showing several vessels altering course to avoid the waterway.

BBC Verify has approached the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for comment. But ship-tracking data appears to show a Royal Navy warship, HMS Tyne, operating in the area near the tanker’s location.

Forwarder was sanctioned by the UK, the US and the EU in 2025. Since the British government accused it of smuggling oil from Russia, the vessel has changed its name twice.

Satellite imagery showed Forwarder left Primorsk on 12 June after loading oil. The refinery is the largest in the Baltic Sea and is a critical export hub for Russia’s energy industry.

Shadow fleet tankers such as Forwarder have provided a critical lifeline for the Kremlin since the West imposed sanctions on its energy exports.

The clandestine fleet of more than 700 ageing tankers, usually of obscured ownership, is responsible for carrying 75% of Russia’s sanctioned oil, according to the MoD.