UK Court Holds Captain of Shadow Fleet Tanker for Trial
A UK court on Tuesday, June 16, ordered the captain of the sanctioned tanker Smyrtos held for trial on charges of sanctions violations. It came after the master was arrested late on Sunday, hours after UK troops boarded the tanker as it was westward bound through the English Channel.
The captain, Ajay Pant, age 38 and an Indian citizen, is being held by the Bournemouth police and appeared via video at the hearing in the Southampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He confirmed his name, age, and residence, but there was no indication of a plea. Lawyers speaking on his defense said he was simply an employee following corporate orders. They told the court he had no choice in where the vessel went or the cargo it was carrying.
The Crown Prosecution Service had said it was bringing charges of sanction violations against the captain after he was arrested by Britain’s National Crime Agency. He was officially charged with directly or indirectly supplying or delivering by ship prohibited oil / oil products from Russia to a third country in contravention of UK sanctions. Prosecutors said he faced a substantial sentence of up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
They reported the vessel has approximately 98,000 tonnes of oil aboard, and according to its AIS signal, it had loaded at Ust-Luga, Russia, and was heading to the Suez Canal. Prosecutors highlighted that the vessel was sailing without a legitimate flag.
British commandos boarded the tanker around midnight on Saturday in an operation that included HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury as well as Royal Marine helicopters. The operation lasted for about six hours and ended with the warships directing the tanker into an anchorage off Portsmouth. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on Monday an order had been issued to formally prevent the tanker from leaving the UK. The crew of 24, from India and Georgia, is being held on the vessel.
The tanker, which was built in 2009, was under legitimate operations with George Economou’s TMS Group and sold in February 2025. Speaking to the Financial Times, the company said it had acted within all applicable sanction regimes when the ship was sold.
Data shows it was apparently sold to what appeared to be a front company based in the Seychelles. It was later resold to a Chinese company based in Hong Kong. It first claimed a flag in Gambia and later in Cameroon. Since May 2026, the flag has been listed as unknown. The EU sanctioned the vessel in July 2025, and the UK followed suit in October 2025.
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After today’s brief hearing, the court ordered Pant remanded in custody. He is next scheduled to appear at the Bournemouth Crown Court on July 16.
The UK follows France, Sweden, and Finland, which have also attempted to prosecute the captains of shadow fleet tankers. France sentenced one captain in absentia, and the others were released with fines. Sweden released the captains, saying it was difficult to prove they were aware they were presenting false papers, while a Finnish court released three individuals charged with damaging subsea cables, saying the incident happened outside Finland’s area of responsibility. Sweden continues to hold another captain on charges of presenting false information, and Finland yesterday said it was prosecuting a captain and a bosun for damage done to two subsea telecom cables.