British troops join military operation with French navy to seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in Mediterranean | World News

British troops have joined a military operation with the French navy in the Mediterranean to capture an oil tanker, thought to be part of a shadow Russian fleet.

British patrol ship HMS Cutlass monitored the Deyna, a Mozambique-flagged vessel, and supported French operations on Friday by providing tracking information and imagery near the Channel. Gibraltar.

Minister of Defense John Healey said: “Disturbing, obstructing and degrading belongs to Russia The shadow fleet – and Putin’s underfunded war machine – is a priority for this government.”

Russia’s shadow fleet of ships is used to carry oil and goods around the world to evade sanctions against Moscow following its full-scale invasion of the region. Ukraine.

Deyna was approved by Britain and the European Union for its role in Russian oil shipments.

President of France Emmanuel Macron said in a post on

“They’re spending money while helping finance Russia’s war effort. We won’t let that happen.”

Western military sources told Reuters that the tanker was carrying Russian crude, while the news agency also quoted local officials as saying the ship was allegedly flying a false flag.

The ship, which sailed from the Russian port of Murmansk, was escorted to a docking point for further inspection, the French military said.

Maritime tracking site vesselfinder.com said the ship was heading for Port Said, Egypt, and was intercepted off the coast of Algeria.

The shipping industry accuses the shadow fleet’s ships of being poorly maintained, aging tankers with questionable insurance coverage or safety certifications.

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Friday’s military operation was the latest sign of Britain’s cooperation with its allies.

In January, British troops assisted the US seize the oil tanker Marinera in the Atlantic, and France intercepted another sanctioned ship, the Grinch, in the western Mediterranean.

Although European sanctions are still in effect, the US is implementing temporary sanctions easing sanctions on Russian oil sales because the Middle East war ⁠disrupted oil supplies and increased prices.

Moscow has previously called the seizure of its tankers, or ships carrying their cargo, an act of piracy.