Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many vessels identified as part of the Russian shadow fleet have been boarded since 24 February 2022 by UK (a) military and (b) law enforcement personnel; and what information his Department holds on the number of vessels identified as part of the Russian shadow fleet that have been boarded since 24 February 2022 by the (i) military and (ii) law enforcement personnel of allied countries.

The UK-led interdiction of the sanctioned oil tanker SMYRTOS in June was the first of its kind. The UK has also supported multiple allied interdictions of sanctioned vessels in recent months.

We welcome the actions of our Allies, including France, Belgium and Sweden, who have taken action to interdict a number of sanctioned vessels involved in the export of sanctioned Russian oil.