Britain is investigating a sanctioned tanker that is suspected of being part of the Russian "shadow fleet," shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow's war on Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday. British armed forces boarded and detained the vessel, the Smyrtos, on Sunday in the English Channel, in what the country's Defence Ministry called "the first UK-led operation of its kind." The vessel will be held and monitored off the south coast of England for investigation, according to a statement by the Defence Ministry. The operation was carried out "in close coordination" with French authorities, who have previously intercepted a number of vessels linked to the "shadow fleet." Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine.