Indian coastal authorities have reportedly seized three oil tankers this month that were under United States sanctions and linked to Iran, in what sources described as a move to curb illicit oil trading and reinforce enforcement in Indian waters. The development comes amid a recent diplomatic and trade warming between India and the United States.
According to Reuters, the three vessels — Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star and Al Jafzia — were intercepted by Indian enforcement authorities around 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai after suspicious activity was detected within India’s exclusive economic zone. The ships are believed to have frequently changed identities to evade detection, and their owners are reportedly based overseas.
The actions follow the deletion of a February 6 social media post by Indian authorities that had initially confirmed the interception of the vessels. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the tankers were escorted to Mumbai for further investigation after being stopped during a maritime operation.
India has also stepped up surveillance across its maritime zones with additional Coast Guard ships and aircraft deployed to prevent ship-to-ship transfers designed to obscure the origin of oil cargo — a tactic often used to bypass sanctions.
The seizures occurred at a time of improving US-India relations, with Washington earlier this month announcing a reduction in import tariffs on Indian goods from 50 % to 18 %, following New Delhi’s reported agreement to halt imports of Russian crude.
Iranian state media and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) have denied any connection between the seized tankers and their operations, asserting that neither the vessels nor their cargoes were linked to the company.
The incident marks a rare public enforcement against tankers associated with sanctions in the region and underscores increasing scrutiny of maritime trade routes amid ongoing efforts by nations to enforce sanctions and prevent illicit global oil flows.
