BBC:
Almost 200 so-called Russian “shadow fleet” vessels have entered UK waters since the prime minister threatened to intercept them nearly seven weeks ago, BBC Verify analysis suggests.
In March, Sir Keir Starmer announced that British armed forces “are now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters”.
However, BBC Verify has identified 184 UK-sanctioned vessels making 238 journeys through UK waters since then and the government has not publicly stated or offered evidence that any have been boarded.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) say it is “disrupting and deterring” shadow fleet vessels, without providing specific details. One former Royal Navy commander has called the lack of action “pathetic”.
Each ship entered the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – an area that reaches up to 200 nautical miles (230 miles; 370km) from the coastline. Most of the journeys were through the English Channel.
In at least 94 instances, the ship briefly crossed into UK territorial waters – a smaller zone that extends up to 12 nautical miles (14 miles; 23km) from the coast.
BBC Verify understands the UK’s interception policy applies to both the UK’s territorial waters and the EEZ.
Russia has been operating a “shadow fleet” of tankers with obscure ownership structures to evade international sanctions imposed on its oil exports.
All 184 UK-sanctioned ships were tracked by BBC Verify using data from MarineTraffic between 25 March and 15:00 BST on 11 May.
