Ministry of Defence written question – answered at on 9 July 2026.
Richard Holden
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
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.
Louise Jones
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
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.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
