Royal Marines Take Control Of Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker
6/14/202634 min
Royal Marine Commandos have boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Marines, joined by National Crime Agency officers, with the support of the RAF, intercepted and boarded the vessel in a six-hour operation - the first operation of its kind by UK armed forces.
The vessel, Smyrtos, will be held and monitored off the south coast of England as investigations continue, the MoD said.
Joe Pike joins Laura and Paddy to go through what we know about the operation, and put it into context in light of a week of resignations over the government's defence investment plan.
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The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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First 90 secondsPaddy O'Connell· Host0:00
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Paddy O'Connell· Host0:51
[electronic tone] So footage has been released by the Ministry of Defense of an operation to board a shadow Russian oil tanker in the English Channel.
Laura Kuenssberg· Host1:02
There are very dramatic images. You can see helicopters flying low in the darkness, and then you can see actually with their guns going down the stairs, boarding the ship, um, of what happened this morning. And Russia's shadow fleet are essentially tankers that are still moving oil around the world, trying to defy the sanctions in order to keep the Russian war economy that funds the war in Ukraine going. The government said in January that they would look at doing this, but it's significant this morning. It's the first operation of its kind,