{"id":10623,"date":"2026-04-09T19:59:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/10623\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:59:11","slug":"the-secret-cargo-putins-warship-was-trying-to-protect-in-channel-dash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/10623\/","title":{"rendered":"The secret cargo Putin’s warship was trying to protect in Channel dash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oil, supplies and spare parts for Vladimir Putin\u2019s<\/a> armed forces are believed to have been taken through the English Channel on sanctioned Russian tankers, escorted by a Kremlin warship.<\/p>\n

Despite the UK threatening to seize shadow fleet ships that help fund Moscow\u2019s war with Ukraine, the Universal sailed past the English coast carrying \u201cmilitary relevant\u201d cargo for the direct use of Russia\u2019s army, a senior maritime security source told The i Paper.<\/p>\n

The blacklisted tanker passed through the Channel on Wednesday, followed closely by the Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian frigate armed with cruise and surface-to-air missiles, along with a second sanctioned Russian tanker sailing under a suspected false Cameroon flag.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

While Putin\u2019s network of illicit vessels is charged with funding Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine by conducting clandestine oil trades across the globe, these escorted tankers are understood to be performing shipments for the direct use of Moscow\u2019s military.<\/p>\n

The tanker, first spotted in the Channel by The Daily Telegraph<\/a>, marks at least the sixth incident of a \u201cmilitarily relevant\u201d Russian tanker sailing through the Channel with a Kremlin warship escort in the past twelve months, a Nato maritime source said.<\/p>\n

In announcing new powers for the military to seize suspect vessels, Keir Starmer said Putin should be in \u201cno doubt\u201d that \u201cwe\u2019re going after his shadow fleet even harder\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since then, dozens of sanctioned ships \u2013 many forming part of Russia\u2019s Shadow Fleet \u2013 have traversed through the Channel without challenge. Last month, four vessels sanctioned by the Foreign Office loitered near undersea cables and pipelines just outside the UK\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n

Running scared <\/p>\n

The Universal abruptly left a Russian port in Leningrad at the end of last month, as Ukrainian drones struck at least three key oil ports in the region.<\/p>\n

The tanker picked up its Russian warship escort in the Baltic Sea on 2 April after fleeing Russian ports hit by Ukrainian drone strikes last month, according to data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence.<\/p>\n

The Foreign Office sanctioned the ship in September for attempting to \u201cundermine or threaten\u201d Ukraine by exporting oil from Russia to fund its invasion.<\/p>\n

But its purpose, and its military escort, suggest something more nefarious, according to a senior Nato source.<\/p>\n

The vessel is believed to be carrying fuel, food, and spare parts for Russian military ships \u201coperating at a distance\u201d, the source said, adding that they use the Channel for deliveries \u201cfrequently\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pictures of the Universal traversing the Channel suggest she was not fully laden after leaving Russia, which experts say may indicate the vessel was forced to depart prematurely due to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil ports.<\/p>\n

\"UndatedThe Universal and its warship escort were accompanied by the RFA Tideforce, a tanker supplying water and stores to Royal Navy and Nato warships (Photo: Ministry of Defence\/PA)<\/p>\n

The ship had returned home in March after conducting a suspected ship-to-ship transfer with another sanctioned Russian vessel, Jupiter, in February, according to maritime data. Moscow\u2019s clandestine vessels conduct such transfers to avoid entering ports, helping obfuscate the origin of the cargo.<\/p>\n

Mark Douglas of Starboard Maritime Intelligence said the incident comes at a time of \u201cunprecedented disruption in the global fuel market\u201d, which has seen Russian oil being sold at a premium.<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine has struck Russian oil terminals, including those in the Baltic Sea, making it harder for Russia to load tankers and demonstrating that Ukraine can attack ports, and possibly tankers, far from the Black Sea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not surprising Russia is escorting these vessels. But escort duties will put further pressure on the Russian Navy, already under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Europe\u2019s waters become hostile, Putin\u2019s vessels head to the Channel<\/p>\n

In its escape from Ukrainian action across the Baltic, the Universal traversed the Channel \u2013 a route which Downing Street had previously vowed to shut Putin\u2019s vessels out of.<\/p>\n

For months, officials in Whitehall and the Armed Forces have worked to establish the legal framework required to intercept vessels suspected of fueling Moscow\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, naval units and special forces teams are on standby with the capability to rapidly intercept and secure vessels. Yet, no seizures have taken place, while European allies have taken their own action against the Shadow Fleet.<\/p>\n

The Universal and its warship escort were accompanied by the RFA Tideforce, a tanker supplying water and stores to Royal Navy and Nato warships. However, the latest provocation by Moscow shows that as European waters become increasingly hostile for the Kremlin\u2019s fleet, the Channel is still considered a risk worth taking.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said: \u201cBaltic Sea coastal states, as well as France and Belgium, are becoming more assertive. The parallel we are seeing is that Russian vessels are becoming more assertive themselves. They behave as if they don\u2019t care anymore that they are violating maritime rules, becoming more brazen and emboldened.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, at least four sanctioned Russian tankers were sailing through the Channel, the same day that Defence Secretary John Healey said a month-long Russian submarine operation was detected in and around British waters.<\/p>\n

He said the Akula attack submarine and two Gugi spy submarines spent time over \u201ccritical infrastructure relevant to us and our allies\u201d before heading north out of UK waters.<\/p>\n

Healey added there was \u201cno evidence that there has been any damage\u201d to UK cables and pipelines, but that any attempt to damage the infrastructure would not be tolerated and would have \u201cserious consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n

In response to the warship in the Channel, Healey said that the fact that Russia feels the need to send a warship to escort its shadow fleet vessels has shown the new UK policy is \u201chaving an impact\u201d because it is making it much more difficult for Putin to sell oil using these tankers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ready to take further action with allies to interdict shadow fleet vessels,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cWe aim with others to put more pressure in the coming weeks and months on Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moscow has returned the warning, saying it would retaliate if the UK seized any Russian ships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oil, supplies and spare parts for Vladimir Putin\u2019s armed forces are believed to have been taken through the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[216,484,5090,5,6,1625],"class_list":{"0":"post-10623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-royal-navy","9":"tag-russia","10":"tag-russian-shadow-fleet","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-vladimir-putin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116376526330076227","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}