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India-Bound Tanker Caught in STS Transfer of Russian Oil Off Oman

Samadha
Samadha, seen here as Kaveri Spirit (Cengiz Tokgöz / VesselFinder)

Published Oct 29, 2025 6:34 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A report published in the Financial Times, quoting investigations carried out by TankerTrackers.com, a maritime intelligence company, has shown clear evidence of transshipments of sanctioned Russian oil at transfer locations in the Gulf of Oman. The cargo was destined for delivery to the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Punjab, a facility co-owned by Mittal Energy.

The investigation tracked the outward voyages of four sanctioned tankers, which each loaded in Murmansk. VesselFinder details the tankers as the Belgorod (Russian-flagged, IMO: 9412359), Danshui (Benin-flagged, IMO: 9589750), Dignity (Russian-flagged, IMO: 9283241) and Primorye (IMO: 9421960). All four of these vessels are sanctioned by the United States (OFAC), United Kingdom (OFSI) and the EU.

The receiving vessel in the transshipment from each of the four tankers was the Samadha (Sierra Leone-flagged, IMO: 9286281). The Samadha is owned by the Seychelles-registered Erika Freight Limited, which uses an address associated with multiple dark fleet vessels.

The transshipment area in the Gulf of Oman used by the tanker Samadha (Google Earth/Landsat/Copernicus/CJRC)

The trans-shipments in each case were identified in satellite imagery, taking place in an area 40 nautical miles due east of Sohar in the Gulf of Oman, outside Omani territorial waters. The four tankers from Murmansk switched off their AIS transponders as they approached the Gulf of Oman, whilst the Samadha sent out a spoofed AIS signal suggesting that it made a circular journey from India to Oman before turning back - all without meeting any of the Russian ships. The Financial Times' report published satellite imagery taken of each of transshipments as they took place. The value of the four loads transported between July and September has been estimated as $280 million.

The UK's OFSI sanctioned the Samadha on October 15, the EU having sanctioned the vessel on July 20 this year. The tanker for the moment remains free of OFAC sanctions. Sanctions databases link the Samadha at some point to what is now the NorthStandard P&I Association, but the post-sanctions insurance relationship is not clear.

In each instance the Samadha unloaded at Mundra on the Gujarati coast, the head of the 625-mile crude pipeline to the Guru Gobind Singh refinery.

The Guru Gobind Singh refinery is a joint venture between the state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Company and Mittal Energy Limited. The executive chairman of Arcelor Mittal is Lakshmi Mittal, who has recently announced that for tax reasons he will be giving up his UK residency.

The clear evidence of sanctions-breaking activities on the part of vessels sanctioned both by the EU and the UK's OFSI will present particular dilemmas for the regulatory and enforcement authorities. Arcelor Mittal has substantial steel and mining investments in both the EU and the UK. In an ongoing political dispute in the UK over a spy case dropped allegedly because it would upset the Chinese government, and hence jeopardize Chinese investments, the British government has shown a reluctance to take robust action against malefactors if its economic interests would be jeopardized. It also signed a trade agreement with India in July.

The United States has been seeking to tighten curbs on Indian consumers and Russian producers of Arco-grade crude, and has imposed sanctions on Russia's two biggest crude producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.

As for Samadha, the vessel may not need to conduct an STS transfer on her next voyage - at least, not in the role of the receiving ship. The latest AIS data puts the tanker off the coast of Russia's Kola Peninsula, en route to Murmansk. 

Top image: Samadha, seen here as Kaveri Spirit (Cengiz Tokgöz / VesselFinder)