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The government has identified a legal basis which it believes can be used to allow UK military to board and detain vessels in so-called shadow fleets, BBC News understands.<\/p>\n
Russia, Iran and Venezuela have all been accused of operating ships without a valid national flag to avoid sanctions on oil.<\/p>\n
Last week British armed forces assisted US troops in seizing the Marinera oil tanker<\/a>, which American officials accused of carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran, breaking US sanctions.<\/p>\n To date, no UK military personnel have boarded any vessels, but officials have spent the last few weeks exploring what measures could be used.<\/p>\n The Sanctions and Money Laundering Act<\/a> from 2018 can be used to approve the use of military force, ministers believe.<\/p>\n It is understood there are plans for the armed forces to use these powers, in what is being described inside government as a ramping up of action against the ships.<\/p>\n It is not known exactly when the first UK military action might occur.<\/p>\n Two oil tankers subject to US sanctions were reportedly spotted sailing east through the English Channel towards Russia on Thursday.<\/p>\n The UK has already imposed sanctions<\/a> on more than 500 alleged shadow vessels, which it believes are helping to fund hostile activity, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Ministers say that action taken by the UK and its allies has forced around 200 ships off the seas, most of which will have been operating without a legitimate flag.<\/p>\n Ship flagging is the process used to register a vessel to a specific country, which then allows it to travel in international waters and offers it certain protections under law.<\/p>\n The government believes the new legal mechanism they have identified could be applied to any sanctioned vessels not legitimately flagged.<\/p>\n Officials say this would have included the Marinera tanker, which was seized last week.<\/p>\n The Marinera, a Venezuelan-linked ship previously known as the Bella 1, was stopped by the US Coast Guard<\/a> as it travelled through the North Atlantic ocean between Iceland and Scotland.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Defence said the US asked the UK for assistance, and that RAF surveillance aircraft and a Royal Navy support ship RFA Tideforce took part in the operation.<\/p>\n Defence Secretary John Healey said the action was “in full compliance with international law”, adding the UK “will not stand by as malign activity increases on the high seas”.<\/p>\n Healey told MPs on Wednesday that the government was “stepping up action on the shadow fleet, developing further military options and strengthening co-ordination with allies”.<\/p>\n It is understood that identifying this legal mechanism was one of the further military options that Healey was referring to.<\/p>\n