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British forces seize Russian shadow fleet oil tanker LONDON — Britain’s armed forces have for the first time intercepted and seized control of a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker sailing in the English Channel, the British Defense Ministry said on Sunday.Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers boarded the vessel early Sunday in a military operation that lasted six hours and that was supported by British military ships and aircraft, the ministry said in a statement.ADVERTISING The intercepted tanker, the Smyrtos, will be held and monitored off the southern coast of England, the ministry added.“This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in a statement, referring to President Vladimir Putin of Russia.Russia’s shadow fleet is a collection of often dilapidated ships with hazy ownership that covertly moves fuel around the globe, enabling the country to sidestep international sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.According to the British government, the shadow fleet consists of more than 700 vessels and is responsible for carrying 75% of Russia’s sanctioned oil, giving the Kremlin an important economic lifeline.Britain, which has imposed sanctions on more than 500 Russian shadow fleet vessels, says more than 70% of them are more than 15 years old.The interception of the Smyrtos was the first time that British forces had acted alone to stop a ship in the shadow fleet and the first such operation in the English Channel, the Defense Ministry said.This year, the British military assisted the United States in seizing an oil tanker, the Marinera, in the waters between Iceland and Scotland.American officials said the ship had violated sanctions by carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.After that operation, the British government had said it was exploring how British forces could take similar action against sanctioned vessels traveling through its waters.In March, Starmer decided British armed forces and law enforcement officers could board shadow fleet vessels in accordance with international law, the Defense Ministry said.The operation against the Smyrtos was conducted in “close coordination” with France, building on recent collaboration between the two nations.This month, President Emmanuel Macron of France said his country had intercepted an oil tanker thought to be part of the Russian shadow fleet.That vessel, the Tagor, was detained with British support in the Atlantic Ocean, around 400 nautical miles west of Brittany.It was the fourth suspected shadow fleet vessel that France has boarded since September, according to the French authorities.Britain’s military action comes at a sensitive moment politically.The country’s defense secretary, John Healey, and the armed forces minister, Al Carns, both quit their posts last week in a dispute over military funding plans.