Indian captain of Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker faces 10-year jail term in UK
The Indian captain of an oil tanker is facing up to ten years behind bars in the UK after being detained for allegedly breaching Western sanctions on Russia, in a case that has drawn fierce criticism from international seafaring unions.
Ajay Pant was commanding the MV Smyrtos when the British authorities intercepted the vessel in international waters and detained him in June.
The Smyrtos has been branded a so-called ‘shadow fleet’ tanker, so named for transporting crude oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia in defiance of unilateral Western sanctions against them. China, India, and the rest of the Global South, as well as Russia, have argued that the sanctions are illegal because they have not been approved by the United Nations Security Council.
Pant’s appeal will be heard on Thursday. His earlier bail plea was denied because the UK court claimed he could receive Russian help to abscond or flee.
The 38-year-old father-of-two is from the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, and is the primary caregiver of his elderly parents. His wife, Ritu, has publicly advocated for his release and called him a “scapegoat.” She has pointed out that the vessel’s owners are responsible for cargo and routing decisions. Pant was also the only individual charged by the UK authorities.
The owner of the vessel is Hong Kong-based Zhao Yao Shipping, SeaTrade Maritime News reported. Chennai-based Vika Line Marine Services is its international safety manager.
Most of the ship’s 24-member crew had returned to their home countries by August, news reports say, while some are still on the Smyrtos, which is anchored off the coast of Weymouth and Portland in Dorset, England.
India said on Tuesday it has stepped up diplomatic efforts to help Pant.
“We have been in touch with the lawyers of Captain Pant as well as his family,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said. “The High Commission has paid several visits to Captain Pant to check on his well-being. We have also facilitated the visit of his family members, his wife in particular.”
The vessel has been under EU and UK sanctions since October 2025. It was flying the Cameroon flag when it departed Russia with its cargo, but the African nation removed the vessel from its national ship registry a few days before its interception.
The UK authorities claim that when a vessel is considered stateless, Britain has a right to exercise powers under its domestic legislation.
Experts and the Seafarers Union, however, say the detention of the captain of a ship in international waters creates a worrying precedent. They point out that this is the first time that a European nation has held a ship captain on such charges.
“Seafarers will often not know that their ship might be carrying sanctioned oil, and that they’re potentially open to getting caught up in a geopolitical conflict,” Steve Yandell, coordinator of the seafarers’ section of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, was quoted as saying by AFP.
The Forward Seamen’s Union of India has demanded a faster trial. “It is a minimum requirement of the international unions that there should be a fast trial court for such cases, when a foreign seafarer is detained in a third country,” FSUI official Manoj Yadav said. A trial that could last four weeks has been reportedly scheduled for December 15.
The development is especially concerning for India, which has an estimated 320,000 seafarers working on ships across the globe.
