British Defense Minister John Healey appeared before the House of Commons on Jan. 7 to make an “emergency statement” on British support for the U.S. seizure of the tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland. In it, he confirmed that the British government gave the U.S. to use two airbases, RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall, to launch the forces involved in the seizure, and provided supporting forces, including airborne surveillance and the RFA Tideforce, a Royal Navy at-sea replenishment vessel.
“The vessel refused to comply with the U.S.’s exercise of its sanctions jurisdiction on Dec. 20, after which the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Monroe pursued the ship across the Atlantic,” he said reported The Times of London. “This is a sanctioned, stateless vessel which carries a long history of nefarious activity and shares close links with both Iran and Russia.”
Further, Healey told the Commons that the U.K. supported the U.S. seizure of the Marinera to enforce counter-Iran sanctions, to tackle the global security challenge posed by “shadow fleets,” and to reinforce British homeland defence.
