India seizes 3 Iran-linked tankers

India has seized three US-sanctioned oil tankers linked to Iran this month and stepped up surveillance in its maritime zone to curb illicit trade, a source said on Monday, confirming a post on X by Indian authorities earlier in February that had been deleted.

India aims to prevent its waters from being used for ship-to-ship transfers that obscure the origin of oil cargoes, the source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The seizures and heightened surveillance follow an improvement in US-India relations.

The three sanctioned vessels -- Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star and Al Jafzia -- frequently changed their identities to evade law enforcement by coastal states, the source said, adding that their owners were based overseas.

Iranian state media cited the National Iranian Oil Company as saying that the three tankers seized by India had no connection to the company. It said that neither the cargoes nor the vessels were linked to the company.

Indian authorities had said in a post on X on February 6 that they intercepted three vessels about 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai after detecting suspicious activity involving a tanker in India’s exclusive economic zone.