Captain of Seized Russian Shadow Fleet Ship Appears in Court
Indian national Ajay Pant, the captain of a Russian shadow fleet vessel intercepted by British troops in the English Channel, has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with breaching sanctions.
The 38-year-old has been charged with directly or indirectly supplying or delivering by ship prohibited oil or oil products from Russia to a third country in June 2026, contravening Regulation 46Z9B of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Pant appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court by videolink from Bournemouth police station on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing. He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, giving his address as in India. He gave no indication of his plea.
His solicitor, James Diamond, requested the case be sent to the crown court. District Judge David Robinson, appearing via videolink from Portsmouth, sent the case for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on July 16 and remanded Pant in custody until then.
Seizure of the Tanker Smyrtos
Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) seized the tanker Smyrtos in the Channel early on Sunday in the first UK-led operation to capture a sanctioned vessel. The ship has since been formally prevented from leaving the UK. The 24 crew members, from Georgia and India, remain on board, anchored off Weymouth in Dorset.
Joanne Jakymec, chief Crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “The CPS has decided to prosecute Ajay Pant for breaching Russian sanctions following a National Crime Agency investigation and the seizure of the shadow oil tanker, MV Smyrtos, travelling through the English Channel over the last weekend.”
Mr Diamond added: “Without any indication of potential sentence, given the severity of the matter, I would submit the crown court would be the appropriate venue.” Varun Chuni, prosecuting, said: “The Crown says this is a matter that should be sent to the crown court, there are no sentencing guidelines, the offence carries a maximum punishment of 10 years.”
Details of the Operation
Mr Chuni explained: “On the morning of June 14, Royal Marines and the National Crime Agency boarded the oil tanker MV Smyrtos, that vessel had entered UK territorial waters without a legitimate flag. The MV Smyrtos is an oil tanker that is utilised by the Russian shadow fleet, the shadow fleet is a description given to the clandestine fleet of tankers that Russia used to transport its oil around the world.”
He noted that these vessels operate under a flag of convenience, making genuine owners difficult to trace. “In order to deceive law enforcement, they turn off tracking transponders and they regularly change flags and broadcast false locations.”
The MV Smyrtos was designated under UK sanctions on Russia in 2025, which were introduced to pressure Russia and its economy. It was known to be in Russia on June 5 2026 and departed Russian territorial waters. Its movements were monitored, and it entered UK territorial waters east of Margate on June 13, flying the flag of Cameroon.
The master of the vessel, identified as the defendant, is an Indian national arrested on June 14 and currently in custody. “He’s suspected to be master of that vessel, essentially in charge of it. The amount of oil being carried is substantial, it is thought to be 98,000 tonnes of oil, clearly that is a significant amount. As to its value, it’s uncontroversial to say it’s of very significant value,” Mr Chuni added.
