After the detention of the tanker in the English Channel, other ships of the Shadow Fleet began to turn around and change routes.
This is evidenced by data from the maritime monitoring service Starboard Maritime Intelligence, which provided the data to The Insider, reports the USM publication.
Thus, the tanker LION I under the flag of Cameroon, which was heading through the Mediterranean Sea towards the Atlantic, made a sharp U-turn before approaching the English Channel, and headed towards Ireland. It is likely that it will bypass the islands through the North Atlantic. In AIS, its destination is indicated as FOR ORDERS (“await further orders”), which allows us to determine the final point of the voyage.
Another tanker — C VIKING under the flag of Sierra Leone — also unexpectedly changed its route in the North Atlantic and headed towards Ireland. Similarly, instead of the destination, FOR ORDERS is indicated.
Another vessel that changed course is the SONA, also under the flag of Sierra Leone. According to ship tracking services, it was moving from the Gulf of Finland (probably the port of Vistino) towards Port Said, but deviated from the route to the English Channel.
The tanker MAINI under the flag of Cameroon also changed course. It was heading to the North Sea from Primorsk, with the destination indicated as Port Said (Egypt).
It should be noted that several vessels against which US and EU sanctions have been imposed, but those flying the flag of Russia, and not of third-party jurisdictions, continue to sail through the English Channel. These include, for example, the tanker KRASNOYARSK and the cargo ship ADLER.
The route changes came shortly after the operation by British military and National Crime Agency (NCA) officers who boarded the tanker SMYRTOS in the English Channel on the night of June 14. The vessel was detained and later transferred to an anchorage off the southern coast of England.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, SMYRTOS has been involved in the transportation of Russian oil and petroleum products since early 2025, mainly from the port of Kozmino in the Far East. The vessel is subject to sanctions by the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Canada and Ukraine.
The English Channel remains one of the key maritime corridors between the Baltic Sea and world markets. A significant part of the tankers exporting Russian oil from Baltic ports traditionally pass through this route. Any risks of detention or inspection could force the operators of the “shadow fleet” to seek longer and more expensive delivery routes.
