French and British shadow fleet detentions

Jun 14

TSN reports that French forces detained a sanctioned Russian tanker near Sicily, citing Emmanuel Macron's social-media announcement and MarineTraffic for a Cameroon flag and a Primorsk-to-Singapore route. It then recalls Britain's detention of SMYRTOS in the English Channel, describing it relatively as a few days earlier without an exact date. Citing The Telegraph, the presenter says Britain could auction 98,000 tonnes of Russian oil worth about £35 million and use the money for Ukraine's military needs. A second possibility is refining the oil in Britain for home heating, although the report says transfer from state ownership to an energy company remains unclear. It announces no completed sale, refining arrangement or transfer of proceeds.

UK forces boarded and detained the SMYRTOS tanker in the English Channel early on 14 June 2026. The Ministry of Defence's released night-time footage shows personnel descending from a helicopter toward the vessel's deck. TSN's June 25 report recalls the detention and, citing The Telegraph, describes possible disposal of its Russian oil cargo: auctioning 98,000 tonnes, valued at about £35 million, to support Ukraine's military needs, or refining it in Britain for domestic heating. The report leaves the transfer to an energy company unclear and establishes neither a completed sale nor delivery of proceeds to Ukraine.