The Daily View: Always legally permissible

DESPITE what the UK Ministry of Defence might be telling the BBC, its lawyers did not suddenly happen across new legal advice that suddenly allows it to board fraudulently flagged vessels.

The legal advisers within the Royal Navy have previously made it clear to any minister willing to listen that a combination of Unclos, existing sanctions against Russia, and the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act of 2018, all give ample opportunity to board the hundreds (466 to be precise) of vessels known to operating without a legitimate flag.

That has not changed. It was always legally permissible, if not politically provocative.

What has changed is that the UK political classes appear to have been emboldened by their US support act role in the taking of Marinera last week.

Whether Marinera, previously Bella 1, counts as a stateless vessel is less clear.

The Russian government clearly signalled a temporary registration as the previously fraudulently Guyana-flagged shadow fleet serial offender was chased across the Atlantic by the US Coast Guard.

The legitimacy of that sudden defection to Russia remains more of a political debate than a legal one.

Regardless, UK defence officials clearly figure the Marinera operation to have been such a success that they are now spoiling for more stateless ship-boarding action. There is plenty of opportunity open to them — Lloyd’s List has been tracking a regular flow of fraudulently flagged tankers loading sanctioned Russian crude under the noses of Nato for months now.

The big question mark, however, remains Russia’s reaction to all this.

The muted response from Moscow to the Marinera seizure, likely has more to do with US involvement rather than the UK’s support role.

The last time a European state tried to board a shadow fleet ship with no clear flag was the case of Jaguar. That incident saw Russia respond by scrambling a fighter jet into Nato airspace.

Since that instructive display of protection, EU Baltic states have been understandably nervous about doing anything more than asking the now regular flow of tankers loading out of Russia with clearly fictitious certification for their fake papers.

It is worth pointing out that Jaguar is today named Nasledie (IMO: 9293002) and is one of the 40 plus tankers that Lloyd’s List has been tracking into the Russian register. In that regard, Marinera was not an anomaly.

Whether Moscow would be quite so muted in its response if the UK suddenly started boarding ships carrying Russian crude in EU waters, without direct US backing, remains a big question that the UK’s sabre-rattling defence officials may want to think twice about.

Richard Meade, Editor-in-chief

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