Captain of Russian shadow fleet ship seized by British troops appears in court
The captain of the Russian shadow fleet ship stopped by British troops in the English Channel was detained after being brought to court on charges of violating sanctions.
Indian national Ajay Pant was charged with directly or indirectly supplying or delivering prohibited oil or petroleum products from Russia to a third country in June 2026, contrary to Regulation 46Z9B of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
The 38-year-old appeared for a preliminary hearing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday via video link from Bournemouth police station; At this time, he spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and stated that he was in India.
He also gave no indication of his defence, and his lawyer James Diamond requested that the case be sent to the crown court.
District Judge David Robinson, appearing by video link 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.
Royal Navy 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 seize a sanctioned ship, and it has since been officially blocked from leaving the UK.
The ship, which is anchored off Weymouth in Dorset, has 24 crew members from Georgia and India.
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) chief prosecutor Joanne Jakymec said: “The CPS has decided to prosecute Ajay Pant for breaching Russian sanctions following the National Crime Agency’s investigation and the seizure of the shadow oil tanker MV Smyrtos, which crossed the English Channel last weekend.”
Mr Diamond said: “I submit that, given the seriousness of the matter, without any indication of possible punishment, the appropriate venue would be the crown court.”
Prosecutor Varun Chuni said: “The Crown says this is a matter that should be referred to the crown court, there are no sentencing guidelines, the offense carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.”
He added: “On the morning of 14 June, the Royal Marines and the National Crime Agency boarded the oil tanker MV Smyrtos, which had entered UK territorial waters without a legitimate flag.
“MV Smyrtos is an oil tanker used by the Russian shadow fleet, the shadow fleet being the designation given to the secret tanker fleet that Russia uses to transport its oil around the world.
“They operate under a flag of convenience, it is very difficult to trace the real owners of these tankers.
“They turn off transponder tracking, regularly change flags, and broadcast false locations to fool law enforcement.”
He said the MV Smyrtos was designated within the scope of sanctions that the UK imposed on Russia in 2025, which were “implemented to put pressure on Russia and its economy”.
“It is known that it was in Russia and left Russian territorial waters on June 5, 2026.
“Her movements were monitored and on 13 June she entered UK territorial waters east of Margate, flying the Cameroonian flag.
“The captain of the ship has been identified as the defendant. He is an Indian national and was arrested on the evening of June 14 and is currently in custody.
“It is suspected that he was the captain of that ship, essentially responsible for it.
“The amount of oil transported is very large, it is thought to be 98 thousand tons of oil, obviously a serious amount. As for its value, it is unquestionable to say that it has a very serious value.”
