Iranian oil tanker seized by India [Screenshot from Geo News Pakistan website]

India, recently restoring its relations with the United States, has for the first time seized three Iranian oil tankers subject to U.S. sanctions, thereby cooperating with American sanctions against Iran.

According to Reuters on the 17th (local time), a source revealed that Indian authorities seized three oil tankers sanctioned by the U.S. in early February and have intensified surveillance in their territorial waters to prevent the illegal trade of Iranian crude oil and other goods.

This confirms a post that the Indian Coast Guard made on X (formerly Twitter) on the 6th, which was later deleted.

At the time, the Coast Guard had written that they had seized three oil tankers smuggling oil within India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), approximately 100 nautical miles (about 185 km) west of Mumbai, India, before deleting the post.

The three tankers seized, named 'Stella Ruby', 'Aspalt Star', and 'Al Jazfiah', were identified through their International Maritime Organization (IMO) vessel numbers to have been on the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list related to Iranian oil trade last year.

Although these tankers frequently changed their names to evade detection by authorities, according to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data, the Stella Ruby is an Iranian-flagged vessel.

Furthermore, the Al Jazfiah transported oil from Iran to Djibouti last year, and the Aspalt Star has been confirmed to have primarily operated around China.

Indian authorities have escorted these tankers to Mumbai for further investigation and have reportedly deployed approximately 55 warships and 10-12 aircraft to enhance 24-hour surveillance of their territorial waters.

The Indian government aims to prevent ship-to-ship transfers of oil within its territorial waters, which are used to conceal the origin of the oil, a source stated.

The so-called "shadow fleet," estimated to consist of over 1,000 vessels worldwide, is a group of oil tankers that secretly transport crude oil from sanctioned countries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela to destinations such as China.

They are known to evade detection by frequently changing their flag (nationality of the vessel) and names, employing ship-to-ship transfers, complex ownership structures, and forged documents.

Previously, last year, India was targeted with a 50% tariff by the U.S. administration under Donald Trump over its import of Russian crude oil.

However, in early February, the two countries reached a trade agreement that included India's cessation of Russian crude oil purchases and a reduction in U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18%.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reported that the Trump administration had considered seizing Iranian oil tankers but postponed the action due to concerns about potential retaliation from Iran and a surge in international oil prices.