Britain And The EU Began Preparing For Joint Seizure Of "shadow" Tankers With Russian Oil
- 14.02.2026, 12:28
A landmark high-level meeting took place on the sidelines of the Munich conference.
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which opened on February 13, a meeting was held on the level of defense chiefs of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led coalition of Northern European countries operating in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic. During the talks, British Armed Forces chief Richard Knighton presented various options for dealing with vessels linked to Russia's "shadow" fleet, including joint operations to capture them, sources told Bloomberg. This would allow the Europeans to build on the U.S. success in intercepting tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
According to one of the agency's interlocutors, Europe would likely coordinate with the United States in implementing a possible London-led operation to seize the "shadow" vessels. At the same time, the attacks on tankers with Russian raw materials have already caused concern in Moscow, and Kremlin representatives have privately demanded that the US stop such actions, the source said. U.S. forces have already seized at least nine Russian-linked tankers before.
The meeting of the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force was held in "an atmosphere of mutual understanding," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said. He said it was clear to participants that "we need to be more proactive." "Countries that provide flags to ships in the 'shadow' fleet should know that other countries can take certain measures," he articulated the message from the Europeans. At the same time, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tzahkna noted for his part that some coalition members remain cautious due to "fears of escalation."
In January 2026, 14 European countries warned that they intend to discourage shadow fleet tankers from operating in the Baltic and North Sea. According to a joint statement issued by the UK Department for Transport, the vessels can only fly the flag of one state and must have valid documents proving they are safe to operate and insured. Otherwise, the militaries of the signatory countries will intercept offending vessels for inspection.