UK Charges Captain of Smyrtos With Breaching Russian Oil Sanctions
Key Facts
The Crown Prosecution Service said on 15 June 2026 that it had charged 38-year-old Ajay Bhan over alleged breaches of Russian oil sanctions. The charge concerns, according to prosecutors, the direct or indirect supply or delivery by sea of Russian oil or prohibited oil products to a third country. The prosecution said it followed an investigation by the National Crime Agency and the seizure of the oil tanker MV Smyrtos. The charge puts the case on a judicial track after the tanker’s interception, but remains an allegation to be examined by the court. Prosecutors said Bhan is entitled to a fair trial.
British forces intercepted the Smyrtos in the English Channel on 14 June, in the first British operation of its kind, according to the Ministry of Defence. The military operation lasted 6 hours and included forces boarding the vessel. The prosecution followed that operation and the tanker’s seizure, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. The British government said the enforcement action was carried out in international waters and in accordance with domestic and international law. The case thus combines a British maritime action against a vessel listed as part of the shadow fleet with criminal charges against its captain.
The UK sanctions list published on 15 October 2025 provides earlier context for the vessel’s status: it listed the Smyrtos, International Maritime Organization number 9389100, among vessels targeted under Russia sanctions. The Ministry of Defence said Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows a warship to verify a vessel’s flag when there are reasonable grounds to suspect it is without nationality. If that is established, the ministry said, the UK can use its domestic powers. The government cited this legal framework in explaining its authority to verify vessels’ status in international waters. The charge against Bhan remains specific to the supply or delivery of prohibited oil, while the government statement also addressed the basis for the interception operation.
The British government linked the maritime action to efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian oil trade through what it describes as the shadow fleet. It said the fleet comprises more than 700 vessels and transports 75% of Russian oil subject to sanctions. It added that the UK had sanctioned nearly 600 vessels in the fleet as of 14 June 2026. These figures illustrate the scale of the maritime network targeted by British sanctions and place the Smyrtos interception within a broader campaign against vessels linked to the transport of Russian oil. It was the first British operation of its kind to intercept a vessel from the fleet, according to the Ministry of Defence.
In outlining the financial impact of sanctions, the British government said Russia’s oil and gas revenues fell 24% year on year in 2025. It also said oil revenues were 27% below their level in October 2024, according to the comparison it provided on 14 June 2026. The ministry said vessels sanctioned by the UK carried Russian oil worth $1.6 billion less in the first quarter of 2025 than in the same period a year earlier. The government presented these indicators in the context of defending its maritime sanctions policy, without linking them to any specific cargo aboard the Smyrtos. The criminal case rests on allegations of prohibited supply or delivery, while the economic figures provide broader government context on the impact of sanctions.
Bhan is due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on 16 June 2026, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Prosecutors said criminal proceedings against him are under way and reiterated that he is entitled to a fair trial. The appearance is scheduled one day after the charge was announced, in a case that followed the tanker’s interception on 14 June. The prosecution statement did not determine the charge, which remains an allegation until considered by the court. The next judicial proceedings will determine how the charge against the captain is handled.