“My husband was made the scapegoat."
The wife of the captain of the Russian shadow fleet vessel, who is facing sanctions in the UK, has defended her husband, saying he was “at the wrong place at the wrong time”.
Ritu Pant said her husband, Ajay Pant, was “made the scapegoat” after British commandos seized the oil tanker he was captaining in the English Channel.
The 38-year-old merchant navy officer from Uttarakhand is accused of breaching sanctions linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.
British authorities allege that the tanker, MV Smyrtos, was connected to a network of vessels helping Russia transport oil despite sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine.
Pant could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, with his trial due to begin on December 15.
The vessel was intercepted on June 14 during an operation involving British commandos who descended from a helicopter onto the vessel.
The operation was described by then-prime minister Keir Starmer as a “blow to Russia”.
MV Smyrtos had left Russia’s Ust-Luga port on June 5 and was travelling towards Egypt’s Port Said, according to MarineTraffic.
The vessel was carrying roughly 98,000 tonnes of oil when British forces intercepted it.
Prosecutors have described Pant as the “master of the ship” and allege that his knowledge of the cargo is central to the sanctions case.
His wife has disputed the suggestion that he was responsible for the wider commercial arrangements surrounding the cargo.
She said: “The master’s responsibility in any vessel is to just get the cargo safely to its destination.”
Pant’s defence has argued that he was acting on instructions from the vessel’s owner and had no role in deciding the commercial arrangements surrounding the cargo.
Pant has remained in British custody after being denied bail, leaving his family in India struggling to understand why he has been charged.
Ritu said her husband was devastated when she first spoke to him following his arrest.
She said: “He was broken and he was just crying.
“He didn’t know what had happened to him… He just said, ‘I am in jail, please take me out’.”
The arrest came shortly after Pant had spoken to his wife about the dangers facing sailors at sea.
Indian sailors had been killed around the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in the Middle East, prompting concerns about the risks faced by merchant seafarers.
Ritu added: “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’.”
Pant’s mother, Deepa, has also appealed to the Indian government to intervene in the case.
He is the only crew member from MV Smyrtos to face charges. The other 24 sailors have largely been sent back to their home countries, while the tanker remains anchored off the southern English coast.
The case is attracting wider attention because of its potential implications for merchant seafarers operating vessels caught up in international sanctions regimes.
David Hammond of Human Rights at Sea International said the outcome could have implications beyond Pant and the Smyrtos.
He wrote in an analysis for Lloyd’s List Intelligence:
“The case carries implications far beyond the fate of a single ship, its cargo or its master.”
In a letter to Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the High Commission provided an update on Pant’s case, according to an official release reported by news agency PTI.
Indian officials first established contact with Pant through the prison’s telephone system on June 19.
During the conversation, Pant said he was in good health, had access to medical care and was regularly in contact with his wife.
Ritu added: “My husband was made the scapegoat.”
