UK forces Putin’s shadow fleet into open… with more than 170 boats near coast

More than 170 “shadow fleet” vessels passed near or through UK waters this summer, with a Russian presence in the English Channel almost every day this summer, analysis by The i Paper reveals. While sanctioned ships linked to Russia continue to pass by Britain en route to further afield ports, experts say the summer has also seen a marked change in how the Kremlin’s maritime trade operates. The UK’s dramatic capture of the Russia-linked Smyrtos in the English Channel in June has become a “forced hand” and is pushing the shadow fleet “into the open”, according to maritime and sanction…