UK Charges Captain of Detained ‘Russian Shadow Fleet’ Tanker
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service has formally charged the captain of a 106,969-dwt Aframax tanker that UK forces seized as it transited through the English Channel as part of the UK’s first vessel interdiction. The captain, Indian national Ajay Pant, has been charged with allegedly breaching sanctions after Royal Marine commandos boarded the tanker, Smyrtos, via helicopter on Sunday 14 June 2026.
Mr. Pant is due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on 16 June, 2026. CPS Chief Crown Prosecutor Joanne Jakymec said the decision to prosecute followed a National Crime Agency investigation. “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings,” Ms. Jakymec said.
UK’s First Vessel Interdiction Operation
British forces have interdicted an oil tanker in the English channel after boarding via helicopter. In the first operation of its kind for the UK, the vessel, Smyrtos, was boarded by a joint team of Royal Marine Commandos and what the UK called “specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency”. The vessel will now be held and monitored off the UK’s southern coast, “as investigations continue”, according to the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The MOD said the six-hour military operation involved naval vessels HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury, as well as Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat Royal Navy aircraft, and an RAF P-8 aircraft. The Smyrtos will be provisionally moved to an anchorage off the South Coast of England and will be monitored for any environmental or safety concerns. The enforcement action against this vessel in UK territorial waters was carried out in accordance with domestic and international law.
International Law Enforcement Cooperation
The UK Prime Minister agreed in March that British Armed Forces and law enforcement officers were able to board shadow fleet vessels, citing accordance with international law. This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
Vessel Ownership and Sanctions
The Equasis database lists the vessel’s ownership and management entity, Zhao Yao Shipping, as having a physical address in Hong Kong, China. Sanctioned in 2025 by Canada, Switzerland, the UK and the EU, open source sanctions database Open Sanctions listed several restrictions on the vessel. The UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) said the ship is “prohibited from being provided with access to or having its master or pilot cause it to enter a port in the UK, may have its registration on the UK Ship Register terminated, and a master or pilot of a specified ship may be given a port barring direction, a detention direction, and a port entry direction or a movement direction”.
Original Article: UK charges captain of detained ‘Russian shadow fleet’ tanker — Rivieramm