A sea-air interdiction by the Indian Coast Guard disrupted an international oil smuggling network off western India, underscoring New Delhi’s expanding maritime enforcement posture amid deepening cooperation with the United States against illicit energy flows.
In early February 2026, Indian Coast Guard ships intercepted three vessels about 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai, with boarding teams searching the vessels, interrogating crew members and inspecting documentation. According to India’s Defence Ministry, the operation “dismantled an intricate network involved in the illicit transfer of large volumes of oil and oil-based cargo originating from conflict-ridden regions.”
Officials said smuggled oil was transferred to tankers in international waters to evade duties owed to coastal states, including India. Advanced surveillance and data-pattern analysis flagged suspicious vessel behavior within India’s exclusive economic zone, prompting deployment of Coast Guard ships and aircraft.
The tankers, identified as Al Jafzia, Asphalt Star and Stellar Ruby, were sanctioned by the United States in 2025, the Reuters news agency reported. At least two are linked to Iran. Indian authorities said the vessels “frequently changed their identities to evade detection by maritime law enforcement agencies.”
Also in February, U.S. forces intercepted and boarded two oil tankers in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessels from the Caribbean.
The U.S. Department of War said the tankers tried to defy a U.S. quarantine of sanctioned ships. “International waters are not sanctuary,” the department said. “By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice.”
The interdictions came as India and the U.S. agreed to expand trade and defense cooperation.
The Indian Coast Guard operation “represents a notable escalation in enforcement against illicit maritime cargo movements, particularly in the Arabian Sea,” Prateek Joshi, a New Delhi-based policy analyst, told FORUM. “This action signals a shift toward more assertive maritime oversight, marking one of the first major cases in which India has physically detained vessels linked to sanction-evading oil transport in its exclusive economic zone.”
He said the vessels “frequently manipulated electronic records, changed identifiers and coordinated transfers in ways characteristic of sanction-evading shadow fleets,” mirroring tactics used by illicit maritime actors globally.
Closer India-U.S. cooperation is central to enhancing detection and disruption of such networks by combining intelligence sharing, sanction designations and operational coordination.
Other Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners are adopting similar approaches to counter ship-to-ship contraband transfers, Joshi said. “Coordination among these states is crucial because the tactics used by shadow fleets, ranging from [vessel tracking] data manipulation to frequent flag hopping, exploit gaps between jurisdictions,” he said.
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