Captain of Russian shadow fleet tanker intercepted in Channel charged

The captain of a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker which was intercepted by Royal Marine Commandos in the English Channel on Sunday has been charged with contravening sanctions, the National Crime Agency said.

Ajay Pant, a 38-year-old Indian national, is due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Twenty-four crew members remain on the vessel, the MV Smyrtos, which is being held off the coast of Weymouth.

The NCA said the vessel’s captain had been charged with “contravening Reg 46Z9B Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 by directly or indirectly supplying or delivering by ship prohibited oil/oil products from Russia to a third country”.

Sunday’s six-hour operation, which saw commandos fast-roping from a helicopter on to the tanker and was supported by the Royal Air Force, was the first of its kind carried out by UK armed forces.

Russia uses hundreds of oil tankers – known as its “shadow fleet” – which are sanctioned by the UK and other Western states over its invasion of Ukraine.

More than 500 such ships have been sanctioned by the UK, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in March that British armed forces were “now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters”.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said the operation sent “a clear signal to Russia that the UK and its allies can and will act against the Russian war machine”.

He continued: “Sanctioned oil is bankrolling Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine. Every barrel sold helps fund the missiles and drones used to kill Ukrainians in their home, destroy their infrastructure and break their will.”

Jarvis told the Commons that Britain “does not seek escalation but we will always take necessary steps to enforce UK sanctions”.

He also said the crew of the intercepted vessel, who are Georgian and Indian nationals, were “assisting the NCA”.