India has taken its first decisive step against the so-called “dark fleet” by seizing three oil tankers suspected of involvement in illicit crude trade, signalling a tougher maritime enforcement posture amid growing global scrutiny.
The Indian Coast Guard confirmed that the vessels were intercepted in waters off Mumbai on Friday. In a post on X, the Coast Guard said it had dismantled an “international oil-smuggling racket,” noting that the ships were known to frequently change their identities to evade detection.
According to sources familiar with India’s shipping sector, this marks the first instance of New Delhi taking direct action against tankers linked to sanctioned oil movements. The move aligns with broader efforts led by the United States and European nations to clamp down on vessels transporting oil from sanctioned countries.
Industry experts say many tankers operating in the shadow or dark fleet often carry forged or incomplete documentation, fly questionable flags of convenience, and suffer from poor maintenance—raising serious concerns over maritime safety, environmental risks and regional security.
The seizures also come at a sensitive moment, as Washington has been urging New Delhi to reduce imports of Russian crude as part of ongoing trade discussions. India had earlier stated that it would not permit sanctioned vessels to offload oil at its ports.
While the Coast Guard did not officially disclose the names of the seized ships, photographs released by the agency appear to match images of the Chiltern, Asphalt Star, and Stellar Ruby, according to data from ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic. The same vessels were identified by TankerTracker.com using their unique International Maritime Organization (IMO) numbers.
All three tankers were sanctioned by the United States last year for alleged involvement in Iranian oil trade activities.
Attempts to reach the registered owners and managers of the vessels, as listed on the Equasis maritime database, were unsuccessful. Emails went unanswered, while phone calls were either redirected to voicemail or not picked up.
A Coast Guard spokesperson said the tankers are currently being escorted to Mumbai, where they will undergo further investigation.
The shadow fleet is estimated to consist of around 1,500 aging tankers involved in transporting oil from countries such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela, often operating outside conventional regulatory frameworks. Earlier this month, Malaysian authorities released two similar vessels that had been detained for conducting unauthorised ship-to-ship oil transfers.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
