UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged on March 26 that sanctioned tankers belonging to Russia's shadow fleet would be tracked and detained. However, no concrete step has been taken to seize these vessels since then, even though approximately 100 sanctioned ships have passed the UK coastline. According to reports in The Times and The Telegraph, there is a dispute within the government over the division of responsibilities for maintaining and hosting the ships.
The Ministry of Defence controls the military aspect of any operation, while the National Crime Agency (NCA) is involved in legal proceedings. However, the future of the ships and the covering of costs falls under the responsibility of the Department for Transport, where delays are occurring.
For instance, maintenance costs for the MV Matthew, a vessel seized by Ireland in 2023 carrying cocaine, have exceeded £10 million. The UK has currently placed 544 ships on its sanctions list, but most of them are large, old, and in poor condition. The country's port capacity to accommodate such large vessels is limited. Furthermore, legal obstacles are also complicating the start of operations. Legally, it must be proven that a vessel has evaded sanctions before each operation can proceed. This situation, combined with disagreements within the government over logistics and costs, is delaying the seizure of the ships. Experts state that this is negatively affecting efforts to halt Putin’s multi-billion-dollar war machine.