Indian Coast Guard detains suspected "shadow fleet" tankers for oil smuggling

The Indian Coast Guard has detained three tankers that are reportedly linked to an international syndicate involved in oil smuggling.

"The syndicate exploited mid-sea transfers in international waters to move cheap oil from conflict ridden regions to motor tankers, evading duties owed to coastal states," the coast guard said in a social media post on Saturday, February 7.

Acting on surveillance and data-pattern analysis, the coast guard intercepted the three suspect vessels in the Arabian Sea approximately 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai on Friday, February 6.