Indian captain held in UK over Russia sanctions in first-known case

Indian merchant navy captain Ajay Pant is being held in the United Kingdom on charges of breaching UK sanctions against Russia, after Royal Marines intercepted his crude oil tanker, the MT Smyrtos, in the English Channel on June 14. The vessel was in international waters at the time, outside UK territorial jurisdiction. Pant, an 18-year veteran sailor from Uttarakhand, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted; his bail was denied after an initial court hearing.

The ship was carrying oil from Russia and was heading to India via the Suez Canal. Western states accuse the Smyrtos of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” vessels used to evade US and European restrictions on Russian oil and gas sales. The operation to seize it was authorised by then British prime minister Keir Starmer; the UK Ministry of Defence said helicopters, a maritime patrol aircraft, a frigate and a mine countermeasures ship took part.

A first-known arrest

Lawyers and seafarer groups describe the arrest as a first. Tony Patten of the International Transport Workers’ Federation called it a unique case, according to Al Jazeera. Other European states have seized ships suspected of sanctions violations but released the crews, the report says: France prosecuted a captain in absentia, Finland dismissed charges for lack of jurisdiction, and other countries imposed fines. Pant’s case is the first known instance of a European nation keeping a ship captain under arrest on such grounds.

The case has exposed tension between freedom of navigation in international waters and national enforcement of sanctions not approved by the United Nations. The UK defends the seizure, citing domestic powers it says apply if a vessel is determined to be stateless. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea permits a warship to verify a cargo ship’s flag when there are reasonable grounds to suspect it has no nationality. Whether militaries may enforce domestic sanctions in international waters against foreign vessels and individuals remains contested.

Wider risks at sea

Broader risks for crews have grown. At least 24 seafarers were killed in the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel launched war on Iran in February, and more than 120 commercial ships and tankers were attacked there. In the Black Sea, at least 40 sailors have been killed in more than 570 attacks on vessels. Piracy off Somalia has also resurged. The International Maritime Organization confirmed at least 66 sailors were killed in conflicts this year.

Pant’s wife, Ritu, learned of the ship’s capture through social media in mid-June. She had recorded the vessel’s name and emergency contacts when he left Paradip Port on April 25. She said she stopped the daily newspaper at home and kept the arrest from his elderly parents at first, worried about their health. She has given up her work to focus on the case; the couple have an eight-year-old and a one-year-old.

David Hammond of Human Rights at Sea said the case could set a precedent for masters’ accountability over sanctioned cargo and warned about the “criminalisation of seafarers,” according to the report. Ritu Pant says support from seafarers’ families has given her hope before the trial. She says she must bring him home and that no seafarer should be treated this way.

Source: Al Jazeera.