Ritu Pant always made sure that her merchant navy officer husband told her two things before departing on an assignment. “I always noted the details and the name of his ship and his emergency contact details in case of a crisis,” says Ritu, who is based in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.
She applied this routine on April 25, when her husband Ajay left Paradip Port in Odisha aboard the MT Smyrtos, a crude‑oil tanker. Ajay had been a sailor for 18 years and spent six or seven months a year at sea. In recent years, growing threats to seamen—wars in the Middle East, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and piracy in international waters—had heightened her anxiety.
On 14 June, Ritu learned via a social‑media post that the vessel had been seized. The capture was not by pirates but by British armed forces, because the MT Smyrtos is listed under Western sanctions for allegedly being part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a network of ships that helps Moscow evade United States and European economic restrictions on oil and gas sales amid the war in Ukraine.
Ajay Pant now faces charges of breaching United Kingdom sanctions against Russia, a first‑known case in which a European nation has detained a ship’s captain on those grounds. Lawyers and seafarer‑rights groups say the matter could set a worrying precedent. “This is a unique case,” said Tony Patten, the UK representative at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). “Our stance is that seafarers being penalised automatically when something like this happens isn’t fair. We would always uphold the right of the seafarer,” he added.
Other European countries have intercepted vessels accused of violating Russia sanctions but have released the crews, often with fines. In March, a French court prosecuted a suspected shadow‑fleet captain in absentia. A Finnish court dismissed charges against a Russian oil‑tanker captain accused of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea for lack[Unit] of jurisdiction. Ajay’s case is especially stark: he could face up to ten years in prison if convicted.
‘Situation of the sea was very bad’
The open seas have always been dangerous, but the risks have mounted as wars and piracy have turned ships and their crews into active targets for militaries and mercenaries alike.
At least 24 seafarers have been killed in the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. More than iverpool commercial ships and tankers have been attacked in this waterway, which transports a fifth of the world’s energy supplies.
The death toll in the Black Sea is even grimmer: at least 40 sailors have been killed in over 570 attacks on vessels there. Piracy off the coast of Somalia has also resurged.
Ritu Pant described the constant insecurity she felt each time Ajay went to sea. “I was quite worried,” she said. “When I talked to Ajay, I would tell him that you need to keep in touch always; you need to tell me that you’re fine and everything is safe around because the situation of the sea was very bad.”
Even when he was reachable, network disruptions at sea often left her without a word for days. Ritu tracked online updates of her husband’s ship, a practice that has become common among seafarer families.
On 14 June the MT Smyrtos was crossing the English Channel when Royal Marines Commandos intercepted it. It was the first operation of its kind authorised by then‑British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The ship was in international waters, outside UK territorial jurisdiction, yet a Royal Air Force P‑8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters, a frigate and a mine‑countermeasures ship participated, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The vessel, carrying oil from Russia, was en route to the Suez Canal en route to India.
“This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” Starmer said on X.
Charges of allegedly breaching Russian sanctions were subsequently brought against Ajay, who has been detained in the UK. After an initial hearing, his bail was denied.
‘Criminalisation of seafarers’
David Hammond, a lawyer and founder of Human Rights At Sea, called the enforcement of maritime sanctions after Russia’s 2022 invasion tenuous at best, making the Smyrtos case “very unique”. “It is unique in terms of the interception and the interdiction of a vessel that had been sanctioned, having passed through the English Channel as an international transit corridor. It’s, in my understanding, not happened before,” he said.
Hammond explained that the outcome will affect how coastal states enforce sanctions, but also highlights the risks of “criminalisation of seafarers”. “Ajay Pant’s case is part of a broader pattern of shipping crews finding themselves arrested for many crimes, such as trafficking or movement of drugs that they’re not even aware of having been put on board the ship,” he noted, citing the example of Ali Albokhari, a Finnish‑Syrian chief mate detained by Turkish authorities in 2023 after 137 kg of cocaine was discovered on his vessel.
Tony Patten of the ITF echoed similar concerns. “Our stance is that seafarers being penalised automatically when something like this happens isn’t fair. We would always uphold the right of the seafarer,” he said. “In the case of the Smyrtos, it could be argued that Captain Pant is being criminalised for simply doing his job,” Hammond added, warning that British court rulings will set a precedent for masters’ accountability over sanctioned goods.
“The case is a perfect storm in a global storm of impunity; who is accountable and who enforces accountability,” he continued. “And the unintended consequences of which are yet to be seen.”
‘Horrible year at sea’
Hammond said the case raises broader concerns about how shipping companies and flag states often treat seafarers as disposable assets—replaceable but essential for global goods movement. “Undeniably, seafarers are seen as disposable assets,” he noted.
The killings in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea have underscored this perception among sailors and their families. In a statement shared with Al Jazeera, the International Maritime Organization confirmed at least 66 sailors were killed in various conflicts this year, with hundreds injured and many missing. “It has been a horrible year for people at sea,” Patten said. “Problems have always existed, but conflicts and geopolitical change have certainly heightened them.”
Ajay Pant’s case also shines a light on a growing number of instances where navies have seized tankers outside their territorial waters for allegedly violating domestic sanctions. Since February, US forces have intercepted several cargo ships in the Indian Ocean far from US territory, accusing them of helping Iran evade sanctions.
The US and UK argue they act within international law. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea permits a warship to visit a cargo ship to verify its flag when there are reasonable grounds to suspect the vessel is stateless. The British Defence Ministry stated that if a vessel is deemed stateless, the UK may exercise criminal and maritime enforcement powers under its Policing and Crime Act.
The MT Smyrtos, like many accused of belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet, has frequently changed its flag—previously registered in The Gambia, then Cameroonian in December 2025. It was listed as Cameroonian when departing a Russian port, but Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported the ship had been removed from Cameroon’s register in June. It is owned by a Chinese company.
According to the British Defence Ministry, Russia sells about 75 percent of its oil using such shadow tankers.
Whether militaries have the right to enforce domestic sanctions in international waters against non‑registered vessels remains contested in international law. Hammond said the captures raise “a much bigger issue” of “the freedom of navigation at sea”.
For Ajay’s family and advocates, the case poses a human question: If a cargo‑ship captain in international waters can be captured and tried by a nation for allegedly violating its domestic laws, is any sailor safe?
Anchored with hope
Ritu Pant, a former school principal, has turned her struggle into advocacy for her husband’s release and for seafarer rights worldwide. “Ajay’s case goes beyond just our family, and could be a landmark judgment for seafarers worldwide,” she said. “It raises the fundamental question of whether a master of a ship can be criminalised for decisions beyond his authority, knowledge or control.”
The journey has been difficult. “Ajay was the primary breadwinner of his family, and I have also been forced to give up my work to focus on this case,” said the mother of an eight‑year‑old and a one‑year‑old. “He has also been a caregiver to his elderly parents,” she added, noting that she kept the arrest news from them for days, fearing for their health.
Ritu eventually informed the family and prepared them for the challenges ahead. “The hardest part is having to do this across continents. We have only spoken to him over short calls, and he has had no personal visitors since I went to meet him in August,” she said. “I don’t want him to feel that he has been forgotten.”
Despite hardships, she remains hopeful as global seafarer communities have offered support. “When I started posting on social media, I received so many messages from families and wives of sailors,” she said. “Every seafarer’s family I’ve talked to relates to this. So many sailors are being targeted right now in conflict at sea; they are being made scapegoats.”
Now she is preparing for Ajay’s upcoming trial. “I have to bring him back home,” she said. “For his family, but also because no seafarer should be treated in this way.”