Sanctioned Russia-linked ships keep entering UK waters, analysis says

Almost 200 Russia-linked vessels on the UK sanctions list have entered UK waters since the government said armed forces could board sanctioned ships passing through them, according to a new analysis.

The analysis identified 184 sanctioned vessels making 238 journeys through UK waters between 25 March and 11 May.

It says at least 94 of those crossings briefly entered UK territorial waters.

The Ministry of Defence said it was "disrupting and deterring" shadow fleet vessels, but has not publicly said that any sanctioned ship has been boarded or provided evidence that one has been intercepted.

The findings matter because the UK has said it is targeting Russia's oil revenues to "choke off funding for Russia's war machine" in Ukraine.

The vessels tracked are linked to Russia and are subject to sanctions that ban them from entering UK ports and restrict British financial, insurance and brokerage services.

The ships were tracked using maritime data from 25 March to 15:00 BST on 11 May.

The analysis says all 184 vessels appear on the Foreign Office sanctions list.

Most of the journeys were through the English Channel.

The vessels identified included 173 oil tankers, 10 liquefied natural gas tankers and one multipurpose offshore vessel.

The report says each ship entered the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline.

It also says the UK's interception policy applies to both the EEZ and territorial waters.

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