Nearly 100 Russian ships ignore Keir Starmer's warning and sail through British waters

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Apr 29, 2026 - 07:49

Nearly 100 Russian ships ignore Keir Starmer's warning and sail through British waters

Almost 100 Russian ships have sailed through British waters despite Sir Keir Starmer's decision to let the military board vessels in the so-called shadow fleet.

In the month after the threat made on March 25, at least 98 Russian vessels subject to British sanctions transited its waters.

There has been no announcement of any boarding or detention of the ships, which typically have an opaque ownership structure and can transport oil, grains and arms, often in support of Russia's war in Ukraine.

LSEG tracking data shows that 63 ships passed within 12 nautical miles of the coastline in the English Channel, the most direct route between the Baltic Sea and southern Europe.

Another 35 travelled through Britain's Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, mainly around north Scotland.

Elisabeth Braw, a maritime security expert at the Washington‑based Atlantic Council, said: "You have to quickly follow up with boardings or otherwise those vessels will conclude that it was an empty threat and that is the regrettable situation we are in now."

Other European countries – including France, Belgium and Sweden – have in recent months boarded and detained Russian shadow fleet vessels.

GB News has contacted the Ministry of Defence for a comment.

The Labour Government is coming under pressure from allies to support operations in eastern Europe, the Arctic and the Middle East, despite the British navy being the smallest it has been since the 17th century.

There are currently 544 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet on the British sanctions list.

The data suggested that at least 10 ships passing through had engaged in "spoofing", turning off or manipulating their tracking systems, when crossing British waters.

The Kremlin claimed sanctions against its ships are illegal and called Britain's latest policy a "deeply hostile move" that could draw retaliation.