UK prosecutors have charged Ajay Pant, the 38-year-old Indian master of the sanctioned tanker Smyrtos, after the vessel was seized in the English Channel during a Royal Navy-led operation involving the National Crime Agency, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Pant is accused of breaching the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 during June 2026. The charge concerns the alleged direct or indirect supply or delivery by ship of prohibited oil or oil products from Russia to a third country. He was due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on 16 June.
The charge followed a National Crime Agency investigation after Smyrtos was seized while transiting the English Channel.
Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said prosecutors had established “sufficient evidence to bring the case to court” and that criminal proceedings were in the public interest. The Crown Prosecution Service said proceedings against Pant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. The National Crime Agency said the remaining 24 crew members, from Georgia and India, remained on board the vessel.
Smyrtos was boarded in the early hours of 14 June by Royal Marines Commandos and specially trained National Crime Agency officers. The six-hour operation involved HMS Sutherland, HMS Ledbury, Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters, and an RAF P-8 aircraft. The 244-metre tanker was travelling at 10 knots when it was intercepted. Royal Marines took control of the vessel without resistance, and the ship was later held at anchorage off Portland for environmental and safety monitoring. The enforcement action took place in international waters.
The Crown Prosecution Service is the public prosecution authority for England and Wales.
The National Crime Agency is a UK law enforcement body focused on serious and organised crime.
The Royal Navy is the naval service of the UK armed forces.