Media: Russia’s "shadow fleet" brushes off Starmer warning as nearly 100 ships pass UK waters

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to authorise the British military to board vessels linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” has so far had no discernible impact on traffic through UK waters, according to a Reuters analysis.

In the month following Starmer’s March 25 warning, at least 98 Russian-linked vessels under UK sanctions passed through British waters — broadly unchanged from each of the previous three months, LSEG tracking data showed.

Of those, 63 ships travelled within 12 nautical miles of the UK coastline in the English Channel, a key shipping route between the Baltic Sea and southern Europe. A further 35 crossed Britain’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, mainly around northern Scotland.

The vessels are part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, typically operating with opaque ownership structures and used to move oil, grain and other goods, often in support of Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

Despite the policy shift, there has been no public confirmation of any boarding or detention of sanctioned ships by UK forces.

“You have to quickly follow up with boardings or otherwise those vessels will conclude that it was an empty threat — and that is the regrettable situation we are in now," said Elisabeth Braw, a ‌maritime security ⁠expert at the Washington-based Atlantic Council.

Other European states, including France, Belgium and Sweden, have recently boarded and detained vessels linked to the shadow fleet, highlighting a more interventionist approach among some allies.

The data also indicated that at least 10 of the vessels transiting UK waters had engaged in “spoofing” — switching off or manipulating their tracking systems while in transit.

London has placed 544 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet on its sanctions list, reflecting efforts to tighten pressure on Moscow’s maritime trade networks.

The Kremlin has rejected Western measures targeting its shipping operations, saying sanctions against its vessels are illegal and describing Britain’s latest policy as a “deeply hostile move” that could draw retaliation.

Analysts say the UK’s apparent lack of enforcement action underscores broader constraints, including the absence of a dedicated coastguard enforcement capacity comparable to some European counterparts, as well as legal and logistical complexities linked to monitoring and interdicting a large number of vessels across busy shipping lanes.

By Aghakazim Guliyev