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Captain of a tanker detained by British authorities during a high-profile operation targeting Russia's shadow fleet has been charged with violating UK sanctions on Russian oil exports.
The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said Sunday that 38-year-old Indian national Ajay Pant has been charged with directly or indirectly supplying or delivering prohibited Russian oil or oil products by ship to a third country in violation of Regulation 46Z9B of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Pant was arrested following the interdiction of the tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel on Saturday and is scheduled to appear before Southampton Magistrates' Court on Monday, June 16.
The charges were authorized by the Crown Prosecution Service after reviewing evidence submitted by the NCA.
The vessel was boarded in the early hours of June 14 during a six-hour operation involving Royal Marine Commandos and NCA officers. British authorities said the mission marked the first UK-led interdiction of a vessel linked to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, a network of tankers used to move Russian oil outside Western sanctions regimes.
Following the boarding, the Smyrtos was directed to an anchorage off England's south coast, where it remains under investigation.
The ship's 24 crew members, who are reported to be citizens of India and Georgia, remain aboard the vessel.
British officials have described the operation as part of a broader effort to disrupt revenue streams supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. The UK government says nearly 600 vessels linked to the shadow fleet have been sanctioned by Britain, while Western governments estimate the broader fleet numbers more than 700 vessels worldwide.
The boarding operation represented a significant escalation in sanctions enforcement efforts. While the United Kingdom and its allies have increasingly sanctioned vessels, operators, and insurers linked to Russian oil exports, direct interdictions of merchant ships have remained rare.
The charge comes days after former Bella 1 master Avtandil Kalandadze pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court following a weeks-long Coast Guard pursuit across the Atlantic. U.S. prosecutors said the tanker was involved in transporting sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil using shadow fleet tactics, underscoring growing efforts by Western authorities to hold vessel masters accountable for sanctions-evasion schemes.
Authorities said Saturday's operation was conducted in accordance with domestic and international law and was supported by Royal Navy vessels, military helicopters, and an RAF P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Fuente: GCAPTAIN_NEWS
