Great Britain and France are steadily escalating their provocative and very dangerous game of intercepting, boarding, and then diverting oil tankers accused of carrying Russian oil, tankers that Britain and France claim to be part of “Russia’s shadow fleet.” The two countries have imposed unilateral sanctions against vessels carrying Russian oil, and claim to have the ‘right”—actually non-existent—to board them.
On June 23, the French Navy intercepted the Cameroon-flagged Deliver tanker near Sicily. The tanker is in international waters, 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles) from the nearest French port of Marseilles, and far from French territorial waters. French President Emmanuel Macron, summoning his best imitation of Emperor Napoleon I, said that the Deliver was “in violation of maritime law.”
On June 14, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had directed the British Royal Marines to stop and intercept the Cameroon-flagged oil tanker vessel Smyrtos and put its captain into custody. However, the June 24 Telegraph [cites] other reports that “[British] officials believe the 98,000 tons of crude oil on the ship [the Smyrtos] now legally belongs to the UK and can be used or traded by the British government.” The Telegraph goes on to report that the oil will fetch $35 million, and that the British plan is to transfer the money “directly to Ukraine or used to fund equipment sent to the front lines.” The paper gloats, “the seizure of Smyrtos marked a major escalation in Britain’s fight against Putin’s illicit oil trade.”
