Russian oil split off the coast of Great Britain

After the capture of the Smyrtos tanker in the English Channel by the British Navy, the routes for transporting Russian oil past the UK were divided - depending on the tankers. Sanctioned vessels went to the north.

It was the third day after the Smyrtos tanker was captured, and not a single sanctioned tanker went through the English Channel. According to AIS ships, ships bypass the UK from the north — through the Atlantic Ocean.

For example, the Mariel tanker, which carries up to 109 thousand tons and goes from the Baltic port to the Moroccan Tangier, completed the bypass today. At the same time, Sakhalin, Qasr, Maini, Astral and Tiger 6 vessels have just started their rounds today. All vessels are under sanctions. In just two and a half days, a dozen tankers could bypass the UK from the north.

At the same time, the transportation of Russian oil and petroleum products across the English Channel has not stopped. Tankers that are not under sanctions are going in both directions. During the day, at least three vessels left for the Atlantic Ocean, and at least six returned to the Baltic or Murmansk.

Today, on the eve of the G7 meeting, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against tankers that transport oil and petroleum products from Russia. Another 24 vessels fell under them, and the total list has grown to more than 600 vessels.

As EADaily reported , the captured Smyrtos tanker is at Portland in the English Channel. And the British authorities, despite the age of the ship at 17, may have to seriously try to find some inconsistencies on the ship. According to Equasis, the vessel regularly undergoes technical inspections and was last inspected in August 2025 in China. The British, in turn, hope that Cameroon will cancel the registration of the vessel and the tanker will be without a flag.

In this situation, it is difficult for Russia to take any legal actions, since the sanctions courts have nothing to do with Russia, except for the cargo itself. After the tightening of sanctions, only a small part of the tankers of the so-called shadow fleet passed under the Russian flag.

Its composition is estimated at more than half a thousand tankers, and in a year the country The EU was captured and checked on no more than a dozen. Therefore, in general, this does not affect Russian oil exports, but at least for now the shares are more of an advertising nature for European leaders with low ratings in their countries. For example, the President of France and the Prime Minister of Great Britain were the first to declare the seizure of ships.