Russian shadow fleet, new case: the oil tanker Deliver intercepted off the coast of Sicily
In recent weeks, European countries have changed their strategy, moving from sanctions to full-scale raids at sea to board and intercept merchant ships belonging to Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’
France intercepted an oil tanker linked to Russia off the coast of Sicily earlier this week. French President Emmanuel Macron announced this on X. “On Tuesday, the French navy boarded the oil tanker Deliver as it was passing off the coast of Sicily in breach of the law of the sea,” Macron wrote. Macron stated that the Deliver was linked to Moscow’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’, used to circumvent Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In recent weeks, European countries have shifted their strategy from sanctions to full-scale maritime raids to board and intercept merchant ships belonging to Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’.
The UK’s operation in the English Channel
On 4 June, in the English Channel, Royal Marine Commandos, supported by helicopters, warships and officers from the National Crime Agency, carried out a large-scale operation lasting six hours to board the oil tanker Smyrtos, which had set sail from St Petersburg. This was the first interception operation of its kind led by the United Kingdom in international waters.
Patrols and checks in the Baltic Sea
In addition to these measures, Sweden and other Scandinavian countries are carrying out increasingly stringent patrols and inspections in the Baltic Sea. The strategy of the European Union and the United Kingdom now aims to physically disrupt the supply chain that allows Moscow to export oil whilst circumventing the Western price cap, by challenging ships on grounds of technical irregularities, the use of flags of convenience or the lack of valid international insurance.
