Dozens of sanctioned Russian tankers navigate Channel despite UK vow of 'assertive' action

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 5 min read 100% complete January 23, 2026 at 06:58 AM

AI Summary

long article 5 min

Despite the UK government vowing "assertive action," dozens of sanctioned Russian oil tankers have navigated the English Channel this month. These tankers are part of Russia's "shadow fleet," used to evade sanctions on its oil exports since the invasion of Ukraine. The BBC reports that at least 42 sanctioned tankers passed through the Channel after the UK received legal assurances that such vessels could be detained. Examples include the Sofos, sanctioned in May 2025, which traveled from Venezuela to near St. Petersburg, and the Nasledie, a tanker sanctioned in May 2025 that changed its name and registry after falsely flying under the Comoros flag. The shadow fleet helps Russia mitigate the impact of oil export embargoes and support its economy.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Kayleen Devlin 40% Barbara Metzler 40% Kevin Nguyen 40% St Petersburg 40% Yvette Cooper 60% BBC Verify ×260% Venezuela ×360% Ukraine ×270% Sofos ×470% English Channel ×580% UK ×890% Russia ×790%

Keywords

sanctioned tankers 100% shadow fleet 90% russia 80% oil exports 70% uk 60% english channel 60% sanctions evasion 50% legal advice 40% urals crude 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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sanctioned tankers shadow fleet russia oil exports uk english channel sanctions evasion legal advice urals crude

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