UK arrests Indian captain of Russia-linked shadow fleet tanker SMYRTOS over sanctions breach

The UK has arrested the Indian captain of the oil tanker SMYRTOS after Royal Navy forces intercepted and boarded the Cameroon-flagged vessel in the English Channel. The ship had departed Russia’s Ust-Luga carrying crude oil and was bound for Port Said, Egypt. Twenty-four crew members from India and Georgia remain on board. The interception is described as the UK’s first UK-led maritime sanctions enforcement operation targeting one tanker from Russia’s 700-ship “shadow fleet.”