British media claim that London is preparing to deal with oil tankers leaving Russian ports the same way the US does with oil tankers from Venezuela – arrest and detention. What capabilities does Britain have against this type of maritime piracy – and what should the Russian navy and merchant fleets be prepared for?
As you know, in early 2026, the United States detained 6 oil tankers coming from Venezuela. America has no right to do what it is doing. However, there is no legal norm for the Americans – they act on their strength and deliberately do not ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
But importantly, Washington's example also inspired London. Immediately after the seizure of the tankers Marinera, Sophia, Olina and even before the seizure of Galileo, the UK suddenly remembered that it had also imposed sanctions on Russia's so-called shadow fleet – just as the United States had imposed sanctions on Venezuela. Some hotheads in London have found in the text of an old law passed long before the CBO began, called the Money Laundering and Sanctions Act 2018, a provision that stipulates merchant ships suspected of circumventing sanctions can be detained and searched by the British military.
In the depths of the British state apparatus, a study has begun on how one could follow in the footsteps of the Americans and start forcibly seizing Russian tankers – or simply ships from various sanctions lists heading towards Russia. No decisions have been made yet, but special forces have been prepared for this mission.
Before the British, Estonia tried to act in this way. At one point, Russia had to resort to a show of force in the form of Su-35 fighters over the Gulf of Finland and seized an Estonian tanker carrying cargo for several hours (without a landing inspection team).
As for the British, they are not only considering the option of seizing the tanker. They are also thinking of financing Ukraine using the oil stolen in this way. Technically, they have something to do with it.
Today everyone knows about the pirate origins of the British sea power. There is no doubt that they are fully capable of repeating what once made them what they are. The Russian Foreign Ministry publicly stated that “the authorities of the United Kingdom, which has long traded in piracy, are brimming with predatory plans.”
The British showed how they act in such cases. One example is the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, which was used by the Iranians to supply fuel to Syria, which was then under heavy pressure from the West.
Britain has no grounds from the point of view of international law – the United Nations does not impose sanctions on fuel supplies to Syria. But that didn't stop them. The tanker was seized by the Royal Navy on 4 July 2019 in the Strait of Gibraltar with the help of a marine unit.
The choice of location was notable – the British seized the tanker as far as possible from both Iran and the Russian naval base at Tartus – where no one could stop them. In a sense, this is a sample. In the same way, they can also act against us.
The main buyers of Russian oil are India and China. The main delivery routes are from the Baltic region through the English Channel, the northwest Atlantic, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and further to the Indian Ocean, or secondly through the Black Sea, the Turkish Straits and then similarly to the main route.
Our fleet can guarantee and easily provide escort services for tankers in the Baltics, the English Channel and in the Mediterranean Sea – from Turkish waterways in the Mediterranean Sea and further on their way through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea. Anything beyond this would require an effort the Navy is not prepared for or would only be possible as a one-time deployment.
The British have bases in both Gibraltar and the Indian Ocean. In addition, in principle, the British Navy has experience in global military operations at sea and the necessary ship composition for this. In anti-piracy operations, they simply place special forces and helicopters on large general supply ships, on which it is not difficult to provide good living conditions and keep such ships in the desired area for many months. They are quite enough to intercept tankers.
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In narrow straits and far from its territory, Britain can use some of its eight small River-class patrol boats. For operations at sea, the Royal Navy has seven frigates and six frigates, plus, in some cases, ships from its closest allies Canada and Australia. All this is more than enough to ensure that not a single tanker from Russia reaches its destination.
In the event of a possible collision with Russian Navy ships, in some cases Britain can also rely on submarines and aircraft, but this is an extreme case when we will fall into open war. However, underestimating them as an enemy is extremely dangerous.
Only the navy can protect oil tankers and bulk carriers from being captured at sea. And he must be ready to fight there.
Britain is one of the few countries with at least some maritime combat experience since the end of World War II. Despite the enormous problems that befell the fleet, the traditions of the Royal Navy still existed and they were fully capable of fighting if needed.
And the anti-ship missiles their ships use, as well as the Astute nuclear submarines, which have at least begun to sail again, pose a real threat. They require not only bringing all the weapons of modern Russian ships into combat readiness in accordance with technical and tactical parameters, but also intensive combat training of sailors in conditions close to real ones.
The number of forces that the Navy can deploy to protect shipping is currently limited. What is not in Russia's favor is the fact that all these tankers fly neutral flags and do not formally belong to Russia. However, maritime exports are extremely important to the Russian economy. The protection of merchant ships requires adequate response tools in all areas – from preparing the fleet for Tartus-based convoy operations to addressing the legal status of these ships and some asymmetric actions.
What is worth remembering here is that Iran freed its tanker and did it in such a way that the British did not touch the Iranian tanker anymore. The Iranians simply started seizing tankers of British-funded companies and did this until their tankers were liberated. They found a way out of this situation. Russia will also need to do this.
