Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet of rusty oil tankers continue to pass through the Channel.

Should one sink or suffer a spillage there could be catastrophic environmental damage caused to the South Hams coastline.

According to data by maritime-tracking platform Kpler 46, sanctioned tankers sailed through the Channel between June 1 and August 26.

There was a Russian presence in the Channel almost every day this summer.

Around 75 per cent of Russia’s crude oil is transported by the ships and some are escorted by Russian warships.

Revenues of an estimated £156m a day are generated from a fleet of up to 1,300 tankers.

Back in June the UK seized the Russian-linked tanker MV Smyrtos and that has led to many ships being re-routed.

Since then 75 per cent of sanctioned cruise tankers have avoided the Channel and sailed via the Faroe and Shetland corridor.