By Weilun Soon and Sudhi Ranjan Sen

February 10, 2026 (Bloomberg) – The Indian Coast Guard has seized three tankers suspected of being involved in oil smuggling, marking a stronger stance against the so-called dark fleet.

The coast guard captured the three ships off the coast of Mumbai on Friday, stating in a post on X that they had “busted an international oil-smuggling operation” and that these vessels often “changed their identities.”

This action is a first for New Delhi, according to sources in the Indian shipping industry, and comes as the US and Europe are increasing efforts to target vessels transporting sanctioned oil. Many tankers in the dark fleet possess sub-standard documentation, fake or improper flag registrations, and poor maintenance, which pose risks to security and maritime safety.

The seizures occur alongside US pressure on India to halt imports of Russian crude oil, which is part of a deal to lower import tariffs on India. Last year, India announced that it would not allow sanctioned tankers to unload at its ports.

While the coast guard did not disclose the names of the seized vessels, it shared photos in its post. These photos resembled past images of the Chiltern, Asphalt Star, and Stellar Ruby, which can be found on the ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic.

The ship-intelligence platform TankerTracker.com confirmed the identities of the same vessels using their unique seven-digit IMO numbers.

All three ships were sanctioned by the US last year due to their connections with the Iranian oil trade.

There was no response to emails sent to the registered owners of the tankers listed in the Equasis database. Calls to the owners and manager of Chiltern and Asphalt Star went to voicemail, and calls to the owner and manager of Stellar Ruby went unanswered.

A spokesperson mentioned that the three vessels seized by the Indian Coast Guard are being escorted to Mumbai for further investigation.

The dark fleet includes around 1,500 tankers that transport oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela around the globe. Earlier this month, Malaysian authorities released two older tankers they had detained for conducting an unauthorized ship-to-ship oil transfer.