Royal Marine commandos fast-roped from a Chinook helicopter onto the deck of the MV Smyrtos under cover of darkness on Sunday, seizing control of the 244-metre oil tanker without resistance in a six-hour operation that marked the first UK-led interception of a sanctioned vessel.
By Tuesday, the ship’s captain, Ajay Pant, a 38-year-old Indian national, was due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court charged with contravening sanctions – specifically, “directly or indirectly supplying or delivering by ship prohibited oil/oil products from Russia to a third country” during June 2026, according to the National Crime Agency. The charge falls under regulation 46Z9B of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine, or both.
“Captain Ajay Pant charged after Royal Marines seize Russian shadow fleet tanker in Channel.”
The operation, supported by RAF aircraft including a P-8 Poseidon, helicopters from the Maritime Air Group (Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat), and Royal Navy vessels HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury, took place 25 miles south of the Isle of Wight. The MV Smyrtos, which sailed under a Cameroon flag but was described by the UK government as “stateless”, was formally detained and anchored off Weymouth, Dorset, where its 24 crew members – from Georgia and India – remain on board.
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis told the Commons on Monday that the seizure sent “a clear signal to Russia that the UK and its allies can and will act against the Russian war machine”. He added: “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 noted that all military and law enforcement personnel involved were “safely accounted for” and that the operation was conducted “in accordance with international law”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement: “This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide.” The UK has sanctioned more than 500 vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet – an estimated 700-strong network of ageing tankers that illicitly ship oil under obscure ownership to evade Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Defence, nearly 200 of those ships have been forced to anchor as a result of UK and allied action.
As Pant faces court, the question remains whether this interdiction will deter other shadow fleet operators – or simply push them deeper into the shadows.