Sanctioned Ship Sale to India Scrapyard Shows Dark Fleet Pain

The sale of a US-sanctioned tanker being pulled apart in India includes extended payment terms and measures to shield the identity of the owner, unusual clauses that point to growing pressure on older dark fleet vessels as sanctions enforcement tightens.

Contract II — built almost three decades ago and sanctioned in 2019 under the name Jasmine for its involvement in the Iranian oil trade — beached in late June at Alang, a ship-breaking center in western India that has become a hot spot for dark-fleet vessels. More such ships have turned up at the hub over the past months, as penalties make it harder to keep old tankers in the illicit oil trade.