Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2026 to Question 128971 on Shipping: Sanctions, what the legal basis is for conducting maritime interdiction operations against sanctioned Russian Shadow Fleet vessels transiting UK waters in relation to (a) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and (b) domestic law.

Sanctions enforcement is taken by various enforcement bodies under powers in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, and regulations made under it, UK armed forces may support those agencies in the exercise of their powers.

All interdiction activity undertaken by the UK armed forces is consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.