British Royal Marines Launch Armed Takeover of Russian Civilian Oil Tanker: Military Ops Continue Targeting Exports

The British Armed Forces have launched their first armed takeover of a Russian civilian ship, as part of broader efforts being pursued by multiple NATO members to undermine the Russian economy by targeting its exports. British Royal Marines from 42 Commando boarded the tanker CMR Smyrtos as part of a six hour maritime interdiction operation. While the large majority of attacks on Russian shipping have been carried out in international waters, it is notable that the latest operation by the Marines was in British territorial waters. The operation was supporting by Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, Merlin Mk4 commando helicopters, and Wildcat reconnaissance helicopters, with additional surveillance and maritime domain awareness provided by a Royal Air Force  Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft operating overhead. The Royal Navy deployed a Type 23 class frigate and a Hunt class mine countermeasures vessel to provide further support.

The Royal Marines have been carrying out high risk operations alongside Ukrainian government forces at various times since at least April 2022, making them one of the first active duty Western forces to participate in the war in frontline roles in the conflict. Beyond the active conflict zone, Royal Marine special forces from the 42 and 47 Commando units were more recently in November 2025 deployed in to Estonia as part of a Special Operations Maritime Task Group to simulate covert boarding operations against enemy ships, coastal aids, and the seizure of oil rigs. British participation in the war effort has been considerably more active, with the presence of British forces on the ground having been more widely acknowledged following the death of one serviceman, Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Parachute Regiment, in December 2025. Almost two years prior in January 2024, however, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz confirmed that British special forces on the ground in Ukraine were providing vital support to facilitating launches of Storm Shadow cruise missiles against Russian targets.

The takeover of the CMR Smyrtos closely follows an armed assault by French naval forces, supported by the United Kingdom, on the tanker Tagor close to 600 kilometres west of Brittany in international waters on May 31. The vessel had departed from the Russian port of Murmansk reportedly transporting oil for export. French commandos boarded the ship by rappelling from helicopters onto its deck, while British forces contributed surveillance, tracking, and monitoring support. Reports first published on February 13 indicated that British Defence Secretary John Healey met with his counterparts from Baltic and Nordic countries at the Munich Security Conference to discuss plans for similar forced takeovers of tankers that were transporting Russian oil for export. The U.S. Armed Forces itself initiated an unprecedented series of operations from late 2025 to illegally commandeer ships transporting Venezuelan oil for export, with at least nine having been taken over by force by the time of the conference, setting a precedent for such escalation.

In February influential aide to Kremlin and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Board Nikolai Patrushev stated that a permanent naval presence would be vital to prevent European countries from obstructing Russian civilian shipping’s access to international waters, stressing that the Navy is ready to use force to protect commercial vessels from Western attacks. "In the main maritime areas, including regions far from Russia, substantial forces must be permanently deployed - forces capable of cooling the ardour of Western pirates," he added. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in February warned that the objective was “to dominate the world economy,” which could be achieved by operations “take control of all the routes for providing the world’s leading countries and all continents with energy resources.” “A ‘war’ against tankers in the open sea is being waged,” he added.