BRITISH forces are being readied to snatch more of Russia’s shadow fleet, the Defence Secretary has revealed.
John Healey told The Sun he is looking at “further military options” to intercept the slippery ships helping fund the Kremlin’s war machine.
He said the UK would be “stepping up” its role “taking out” the stealth vessels following the RAF’s role last week helping the United States seizing of the Marinera.
Speaking in Kyiv, Mr Healey said: “We can, and we will need to clamp down with other nations.
“So first I’m looking at further military options that could help clamp down on the activities and then the movements of the shadow fleet.
“You’ve seen what the Finns have done in the last week. You’ve seen what we’ve supported the Americans to do in the last few days.
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“There are military options for taking action that are legal and most effective in taking out ships, bad ships.”
So-called “shadow vessels” are ships that try to illegally transport sanctioned goods like Russian oil.
While Britain alone has sanctioned more than 500 of these tankers, Mr Healey said Putin last year sold £100billion worth of crude via this shady method.
British forces assisted the US Navy’s storming of the Marinera in the Caribbean last week after it tried to flee a blockade around Venezuela under a Russian flag.
On a visit to Ukraine, Mr Healey said the UK would now take a more muscular approach seizing these stealth ships that try to go below the radar.
He said: “I’m looking at further options of operations that could help clamp down further on the shallow fleet.
“Second, we’re coordinating more closely with allies to identify target ships.
“And thirdly, we’re confirming and working on the ways that we could do that that are fully as they should be within international law.”
Mr Healey also refused to be cowed by Putin’s threats of retaliation should more of the shadow fleet vessels be targeted.
He said: “You can never let the sort of threat of retaliation or rhetoric stop you taking the action that you think is necessary in order to deal with the security threats in life.”