An Indian captain of a 'sanctioned' Russian shadow- fleet oil tanker has been arrested in the UK and appeared in court charged with breaching sanctions. The tanker was intercepted by British armed forces while passing through the English Channel on its way from Russia to India. His family in Uttarakhand has appealed to the Indian government to help secure his safe return.
38 year old Ajay Pant is a resident of Nainital. He appeared via video link at Southampton magistrates’ court from Bournemouth PS on June 16, charged with “directly or indirectly supplying or delivering prohibited Russian oil from Russia to a third country by ship, in contravention of Regulation 46Z9B of Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019”.
Pant's solicitor James Diamond told the court, “He was not given a choice as to where this vessel was going or the cargo this vessel was carrying…he was simply following orders from those in the corporation. He is just an employee doing his job who now finds himself before a British court.”
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Prosecutor Varun Chuni said that Royal Marines and officers from the National Crime Agency boarded the MV Smyrtos on June 14 after it entered UK territorial waters without a valid flag. Pant, who was identified as the vessel's master, was arrested and remanded in custody.
District Judge David Robinson referred the matter to Bournemouth Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing scheduled for July 16. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Uttarakhand home secretary Shailesh Bagauli told TOI that the state government had approached the Centre for assistance. “We wrote to MEA two days back to seek their assistance for Pant’s release & return. Our regional commissioner based in Delhi is coordinating with central authorities in the matter,” he said
The Indian high commission has been granted consular access to Pant in UK. Meanwhile, 24 crew members from Georgia and India are still onboard the vessel, and the vessel is being monitored for environmental and safety concerns, anchored off Weymouth, in Dorset.
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Pant's wife, Ritu, said she came to know about her husband's arrest through British media reports on social media and had received no official communication from either the UK or Indian authorities. She described his maritime career spanning more than 15 years as "spotless" and said he was "just following orders from his corporation to captain the ship, and is not at fault".
According to Lloyd’s List, Smyrtos loaded 1,01,400 tonnes of Urals crude at Russia’s Ust-Luga terminal on June 4, and was bound for Sikka port in Gujarat. The tanker had been sailing under the Cameroonian flag since December, but Cameroon removed it and 35 other shadow-fleet vessels from its registry earlier this month, leaving the ship without a flag state.
The operation, the first such action led by the UK, involved Royal Marine commandos descending onto the tanker from a Chinook helicopter during a night-time mission, while NCA officers examined the vessel's documentation. UK PM Keir Starmer said he had “personally” authorised the move which he described as “another blow to Russia”.
Smyrtos has been under EU and UK sanctions since October 2025. Britain's Ministry of Defence said the vessel is part of a shadow fleet of around 700 ships responsible for transporting 75% of Russia's sanctioned oil exports and helping finance the war in Ukraine.
With inputs from TOI.
