It’s been over two months since Indian Merchant Navy Captain Ajay Pant was arrested after the British forces intercepted a tanker he was commanding in the English Channel. Pant was arrested on 14th June when the UK National Crime Agency and the British Armed Forces seized the oil tanker, MV Smyrtoz, which was reportedly carrying 98,000 tonnes of crude oil.
The British authorities have alleged that Pant was captaining the tanker, which is said to be part of Russia’s ghost fleet, a network of vessels allegedly used by Moscow to evade oil sanctions imposed by the West following the war with Ukraine in 2022. The Russian ghost fleet vessels reportedly have opaque ownership and insurance, which make it difficult to trace their ownership or origin.
Pant is the only one in the crew facing charges
Captain Ajay Pant, who hails from Uttarakhand’s Nainital, has been accused of breaching the British sanctions on Russian oil shipments. He is the only sailor among the entire crew of the vessel to face criminal charges. The remaining 24 sailors on the vessel, which remains anchored off the southern English coast, have been let off, with most of them having been repatriated.
The UK prosecutors have alleged that Pant was the master of the vessel and was responsible for the ship’s movement and therefore had knowledge about what the vessel was carrying. However, Pant’s lawyer rejected the allegation and contended that he was only following the vessel owner’s instructions.
The British prosecutors have charged Pant with the alleged supply or delivery of sanctioned Russian oil or oil products to a third country. The offences he is charged with carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. His trial begins on 15th December.
The case has triggered concerns among sailors regarding their safety and accountability amid the recent tensions between countries and the resultant sanctions and actions at sea.
Speaking to the AFP on the case, Steve Yandell, coordinator of the seafarers section of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, reportedly said that sailors are not always aware of what their vessel is carrying. He added that this puts sailors at risk of being stuck in the middle of a geopolitical conflict. “Seafarers will often not know that their ship might be carrying sanctioned oil, and that they’re potentially open to getting caught up in a geopolitical conflict,” Yandell reportedly said.
Pant’s family awaits his return
Captain Pant’s wife Ritu Pant, who has been awaiting his release, said that her husband has been made a scapegoat. Speaking to the media for the first time since her husband’s arrest, Ritu Pant reportedly told AFP, “My husband just became the scapegoat. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time”. She said that when she spoke to him over a phone call, he sounded devastated and broke down during the conversation.
She said that Pant told her that he had no clue about what had happened. “He didn’t know what had happened to him… He just said, ‘I am in jail, please take me out’,” she said. Recalling a conversation days before his arrest, Ritu said that Pant spoke to her about how dangerous it had become to work at sea in recent times. He was pointing to the deaths of Indian sailors around the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Iran war in the Middle East.
“He said that the sea is becoming very difficult now. I was just praying and telling him that, ‘Just be calm, be careful and just keep contacting us’,” Ritu said. Pant has been in British custody since his arrest, as he was denied bail. His family in India is trying to comprehend the circumstances of his arrest. His mother Deepa has appealed to the Indian government to intervene and secure the release of her son.
Indian authorities keeping a close watch
Soon after Pant’s arrest in June, the Indian government released a statement informing the public that it has been closely monitoring the situation through the Indian High Commission in London. The Indian High Commission sent a letter to the Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in the same month, updating him on Pant’s case. The Indian High Commission informed him that Pant was in judicial custody at HMP Winchester.
On 19th June, days after his arrest, Indian officials contacted Pant through the telephone system of the prison, where he was lodged. During the conversation, Pant reportedly informed them that he was in good health, had access to medical care and was regularly in touch with his wife.
The Indian High Commission has also raised the matter with the UK authorities to ensure that Pant gets consular access. The Commission has also been in touch with Pant’s family, lawyers and employer, Energios Maritime Private Limited, which promised to provide him legal assistance and support his family.
What was the operation?
The vessel reportedly left Russia’s Ust-Luga port on 5th June and was sailing towards Egypt’s Port when it was intercepted by the British forces. Reports quoting the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the operation lasted six hours and was carried out with the support of aircraft from the Maritime Air Group (Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat), an RAF P-8 aircraft, HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury. During the operation, British troops descended from a helicopter onto the vessel and took over. The first of its kind UK-led operation was described by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a “blow to Russia”.
Pant’s case will have a significant bearing on India, which has over 320,000 seafarers, forming a major part of the global merchant shipping workforce.
