London: UK Tuesday announced a new set of sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet oil tankers, a day after an Indian captain was charged with alleged Western sanctions breach aboard a vessel.
Ajay Pant, 38, was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) during a joint operation with British armed forces to intercept a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel.
According to local UK media reports, Pant appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court via videolink from Bournemouth police station for a preliminary hearing Tuesday, during which he spoke to confirm his name and gave his address as being in India.
District Judge David Robinson has sent the case for trial preparation at Bournemouth Crown Court, remanding Pant in custody until then.
Pant is charged with “contravening Reg 46Z9B Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, and directly or indirectly supplying or delivering by ship prohibited oil/oil products from Russia to a third country during the period of June 2026”.
“The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Ajay Pant for breaching Russian sanctions following a National Crime Agency investigation and the seizure of the shadow oil tanker, MVÂ Smyrtos, travelling through the English Channel over the last weekend,” said Chief Crown Prosecutor Joanne Jakymec.
“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. We have worked closely with the National Crime Agency as they carried out their investigation,” she said.
It is understood that the High Commission of India in London has sought consular access and awaits a response from the UK side.
The process to ensure the welfare of the crew on board, which includes 24 Indian and Georgian nationals, is said to be ongoing while the vessel is docked off the coast of Dorset.
Meanwhile, the UK government said a latest set of sanctions will further crack down on Russia’s “decrepit and ageing shadow fleet”, targeting more than 20 oil tankers with new and enhanced powers introduced last month.
It said the action also tightens the net around those who are suspected of enabling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “illicit oil trade, further sanctioning ship insurers and other shipping services”.
“These sanctions target the vessels, the money and the actors propping up Russia’s war economy, and in turn, threatening European security,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
“Working with our G7 allies, we will continue to increase the pressure on Putin and his circle of collaborators until Russia’s war machine is brought to a halt and peace returns to our continent,” he said.
The UK claims to be the first G7 country to sanction several Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vessels recently acquired by Russia at great expense to service Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, responsible for exporting millions of tonnes of LNG “in an attempt to source dirty revenue for the Kremlin”.
“As the Kremlin resorts to ever more shady tactics to sustain its war, from its ageing shadow fleet to covert finance networks, the UK remains one step ahead in shutting them down,” said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“These sanctions strike at the heart of these murky efforts, to starve Putin’s war machine and defend Britain’s security. Shoulder to shoulder with our G7 partners, the UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she said.
The UK Foreign Office said the new measures also expose and target a Russian military intelligence (GRU) network centred around GRU front company LLC Neptune Co Ltd. Neptune is allegedly involved in covertly procuring Western technology for Russia’s military.
This week’s sanctions target three companies and 10 GRU officers suspected of acquiring military technology that Russia “desperately needs to sustain its military aggression in Ukraine”.
“Elsewhere, sanctions also hit third country suppliers of critical military equipment to Russia in China, Thailand and Turkiye. Several organisations helping Russia illegally move money, bypassing Western sanctions, are also targeted, including one entity in Nigeria supporting the illicit finance network A7’s sanctions evasions scheme,” the Foreign Office stated.
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