Russian Tanker's Channel Transit Gets Heightened Scrutiny
The Russian military product tanker General Skobelev is a regular sight in the English Channel and Strait of Gibraltar, and she routinely makes her way from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and back to support Russian movements. On this voyage, Russia-Europe tensions are higher than normal, and Skobelev was accompanied by the Russian Navy frigate Boiky during her North Sea passage.
The Royal Netherlands Navy dispatched the patrol vessel GSS Galatea to monitor and shadow Skobelev on her northbound voyage, the second time that Galatea has tracked Russian vessels through the busy waterway in a week. The small patrol vessel is an unarmed civilian hull that the service has chartered for the purpose of monitoring and escort duties. In a statement, the Dutch defense ministry said that the escort of Skobelev "demonstrates vigilance and prevents Russian ships from sabotaging submarine infrastructure."
"We know that these Russian ships can be used to spy and to map vital infrastructure at sea," added Dutch defense minister Ruben Brekelmans in a statement. "That is why we remain vigilant and stand ready to respond."
General Skobelev is always tracked by shipspotters when she passes through the Channel, but her latest transit comes amidst heightened tensions between London and Moscow over the status of Russia's shadow fleet tankers - the underinsured, often stateless, generally older vessels that carry semi-sanctioned Russian crude exports. The UK and partners in Europe have begun to show interest in a more muscular enforcement policy towards the shadow fleet, which was assembled for the purpose of sanctions evasion and is known for evading safety regulations as well.
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Last week, UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper attended a vessel-boarding demonstration held by Finnish forces, and she told Politico that the UK was willing to consider certain joint enforcement efforts. "We stand ready to work with allies on stronger enforcement around the shadow fleet," she said, declining to provide details about what the effort might look like.
In response to the loosely-defined British plan for enforcement, Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin warned that shadow fleet tankers transiting through the region might soon get Russian naval escorts. "What they forget is that Britain has long ceased to be the 'ruler of the seas,' and its actions will not go unpunished," Kelin told Izvestia.
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