Indian captain ‘scapegoat’ in Britain’s Russia shadow fleet case, says wife
The case could test how far Western governments will pursue criminal sanctions against shadow fleet operators and their seafarers.
Ritu Pant, spouse of Indian captain Ajay Pant, defended her husband against accusations that he was a scapegoat in the British investigation of a Russian shadow fleet oil vessel. The Indian captain, 38, is currently incarcerated in Britain and faces a potential 10-year prison sentence for sanctions violations if convicted. The case centers around the seizure of the Smyrtos, an oil tanker allegedly part of Russia's clandestine fleet, which was intercepted by British commandos on June 14 in the English Channel.
The tanker, reportedly bound for Egypt, was carrying roughly 98,000 tonnes of oil. Ritu Pant, speaking to AFP for the first time since her husband's arrest in June, expressed her husband's distress and claimed he was wrongfully made the scapegoat. She emphasized that her husband's responsibility as a ship master is to safely deliver cargo to its destination, and he was simply following orders.
The prosecution alleges that Pant had knowledge of the illegal cargo, but his lawyer contends he was merely an employee obeying orders. If convicted, Pant could become a key test case for Western governments' use of criminal sanctions against merchant seafarers.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
