BRITISH special forces have helicopters “lined up” ready to storm Russian shadow fleet tankers.
The UK helped US special forces to seize a rogue Russia-linked oil tanker in a commando-style raid in the Atlantic last week, however, no British personnel actually stepped foot on the vessel.
However, a new legal basis identified by the government means elite soldiers can now legally rappel onto ships operating without a valid national flag, ministers believe.
Hundreds of illegal tankers trying to avoid sanctions on oil can now be targeted by British armed forces in a ramp up of action against these ships often sailing in nearby waters.
The UK has already imposed sanctions on about 500 alleged shadow vessels believed to be helping to fund hostile activity across the globe.
Now, British troops could board and detain them.
A defence source told The Times the government was developing options for seizures at sea.
“If you want to dial up the economic pressure on Russia, that looks like operators fast-roping on to illegal oil tankers,” they said.
Although there’s no timeframe on when the missions will begin, it’s likely the Special Boats Service (SBS), the Royal Navy’s answer to the Special Air Service (SAS), will be the ones carrying out the raids.
Last week, American officials accused the rusting Marinera tanker of breaching the US oil sanctions on Venezuela.
The Russians had scrambled a submarine and naval vessels to try to guard the Marinera tanker this morning as it attempted to evade Trump’s Venezuela blockade.
But Moscow’s last-ditch efforts to secure the secretive tanker were thwarted when US troops boarded the vessel hours later.
Elite US forces took control of the tanker at around 1pm on Wednesday as it sailed between Iceland and Scotland – before the Russian warships arrived.
Now, the UK could use military force to conduct their own seizures, thanks to the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act from 2018.
It’s understood this legal basis could have been used in the operation to seize Marinera last week.
Britain said it provided “enabling support” to the US forces.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the UK provided a Rivet Joint spy plane to hoover up signals intelligence from the ship.
The top secret RC-135 aircraft is flown by RAF pilots and crewed by civilian spies from the GCHQ listening post.
The White House said the crew on Bella I could face prosecution and would be flown to the US if they faced charges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said seizing the oil tankers was part of a “grand plan” to ensure Washington has a huge bargaining chip over Venezuela.
He said: “We are playing chess for maximum leverage.”
Moscow has since accused the US of “outright piracy” after the tanker seizure.
The rust bucket Bella 1 had set sail from Iran and tried unsuccessfully to break a US blockade of Venezuela last year.
It managed to evade a US Coast Guard boarding before making an urgent U-turn and setting course for Russia. It was chased by the US Coast Guard Cutter Munro.
On Dec 31, the Bella 1’s crew changed the ship’s name to Marinera, and they painted a Russian flag on the hull to claim tyrant Putin’s protection.
