UK Charges 38-Year-Old Captain Over Russian Oil on Intercepted Shadow Fleet Tanker
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 15
UK Charges 38-Year-Old Captain Over Russian Oil on Intercepted Shadow Fleet Tanker
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 15
Summary
Ajay Pant, a 38-year-old Indian national, was charged after Royal Marine Commandos intercepted the MV Smyrtos in the English Channel; he is due in Southampton court on Tuesday.
The National Crime Agency said Pant breached UK Russia sanctions by supplying or delivering prohibited Russian oil or oil products by ship to a third country.
Twenty-four crew members remain aboard the tanker off Weymouth, and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has formally barred the vessel from leaving the UK.
The six-hour boarding—supported by the RAF and involving commandos fast-roping from a helicopter—was the first such UK military operation against a sanctioned vessel.
Britain has sanctioned more than 500 shadow-fleet ships and says the crackdown is aimed at cutting oil revenues that help fund Russia's war in Ukraine.