Britain will today launch the most extensive sanctions package yet against Russia’s shadow fleet, in a bold bid to squeeze Vladimir Putin’s war chest and protect vital UK and European infrastructure from a growing maritime menace.
Up to 100 oil tankers—cornerstones of Putin’s clandestine shipping operation—will be sanctioned in a sweeping move aimed at stifling the Kremlin’s ability to bankroll its illegal war in Ukraine. These vessels, which have transported more than $24 billion in cargo since January, will now be frozen out of Western systems, adding yet more pressure on Russia’s battered economy.
The sanctions, announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in Oslo, underscore a renewed determination to neutralise threats to British security and prosperity, both from war profiteering and infrastructure sabotage.
Officials describe the shadow fleet as a murky network of decrepit tankers, often sailing under obscure flags, with no regard for international safety standards or environmental protection. Their operations are not just enriching the Kremlin—they are posing a tangible threat to critical undersea infrastructure across Northern Europe.
“It’s not just about money. These are floating hazards,” said a senior government source. “Unseaworthy and often stealth-equipped, they are a risk to the pipelines, cables and networks that keep our nations running.”
The Government’s action is expected to reverberate through global energy markets, striking directly at Russia’s ability to launder its sanctioned oil exports and circumvent price caps. In parallel, ministers are moving to disrupt the financiers, shippers and insurers behind the fleet—many of whom operate in a legal grey zone, helping Russia skirt sanctions enforcement since 2022.
In a statement this morning, Mr Starmer said: “Every step we take to increase pressure on Russia and achieve a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine is another step towards security and prosperity in the UK.”
He added: “The threat from Russia to our national security cannot be underestimated. That is why we will do everything in our power to destroy this shadow fleet operation, starve Putin’s war machine of oil revenues, and protect the subsea infrastructure that underpins our everyday lives.”
The timing is deliberate. As JEF leaders gather in Oslo to deepen defence ties and reaffirm their support for Ukraine, subsea security will feature high on the agenda. Following the activation of the UK-led Nordic Warden response system in January, 22 maritime zones across the English Channel, North Sea and Baltic are now under enhanced surveillance from the JEF’s Northwood HQ.
This follows reports of unexplained damage to a major undersea cable in the Baltic Sea, widely suspected to be the result of Russian interference.
More than 99% of the UK’s international data, and vast quantities of energy, are transmitted through undersea cables and pipelines. The risk posed by reckless or even malicious navigation by shadow fleet vessels—often lacking safety certification or tracking technology—is now a central concern for European defence planners.
The Oslo summit is expected to also yield further steps to bring Ukraine closer to the JEF alliance. A new partnership will see intensified military training and coordination, improved counter-disinformation operations, and greater knowledge-sharing based on Ukraine’s hard-won battlefield experience.
In a separate but symbolic sign of the growing UK-Norway partnership, Mr Starmer is also expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on space domain awareness, building on his December visit to Bergen. This new agreement will enable the two countries to track satellites, space debris, and emerging threats in orbit, a clear recognition of space as a new frontier for national security.
The UK’s ambitions in space are gathering momentum, with the first launches from SaxaVord in Shetland planned later this year. The link between safeguarding the skies and the seabed may once have seemed distant—but in today’s world, critical infrastructure knows no borders, and threats to it no longer respect geography.
With today’s sanctions, Britain has not only taken a swing at Russia’s oil smuggling empire—it has also drawn a line in the water. The message is clear: there will be no sanctuary for those who fund or facilitate Putin’s war machine.
And as the Nordic alliance strengthens in Oslo, the UK is asserting itself once more as a leader in the defence of freedom, prosperity, and the infrastructure on which both depend.
