US-sanctioned Iran-linked oil tanker spent 8 days in Pak maritime boundary: FIR | India News
New Delhi/Mumbai: US-sanctioned seizes one of three Iran-linked oil tankers Indian Coast Guard (ICG) spent the day on February 6 inside Pakistan’s maritime boundaries off the country’s coast and switched off its tracking systems, according to an FIR registered in Mumbai.The ICG seized three vessels – Asphalt Star, Stellar Ruby and Al Jafzia – about 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai for investigation and filed a police complaint at the Yellow Gate police station on February 15 against nine people, including the owners of the three vessels, for alleged Iran-linked illegal activities and oil smuggling. All three seized ships had 55 crew members.Based on the complaint of Aniruddha Dharampal Dabash (40), an ICG Commandant, the Mumbai Police lodged an FIR and arrested the captain and a crew member of the MT Asphalt Star for their role in alleged oil smuggling and fraud. TOI has a copy of the FIR.Regarding the ship’s presence in Pakistani waters, the FIR said, “Electronic chart display and information system data of MT Asphalt Star was checked by Coast Guard Officer Assistant Commandant P Siddharth Ratnam. It was found that from January 20 to January 28, the ship entered Pakistan’s Maritime Zone Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZEZ).”“On January 28, at approximately 11 hours, the vessel switched off its automatic detection system (AIS), very high frequency (VHF) and all sensors, thereby concealing its identity and making suspicious movements. After further questioning, the master stated that the vessel’s data recording system (DR voyage system) had stopped working.” All three ships used AIS spoofing and false identity data to avoid detection.Yogender Singh Brar, an Indian national who is currently based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and is said to be the owner of the ship, has been named as one of the accused in the FIR.Through sustained buzzing, authorization of electronic data on board suspected vessels and document verification and interrogation of crew, the ICG specialist boarding team established the modus operandi of the perpetrators.“We have arrested Shyam Bahadur Chauhan and another person in the case. They have been produced in court and sent to police custody till February 23,” a police official said. Chauhan is the master of MT Asphalt Star. In the UAE, Brar claimed that his ships were providing essential supplies to other ships in distress off the Indian coast and that the ships were not involved in any illegal activities, local media reports said.The FIR stated that MT Asphalt Star was found to have illegally transferred 30 MT of heavy fuel oil to MT AL Zafiza in the Indian Ocean EEZ by conducting ship-to-ship operations without informing any Indian government authorities. It was also reported that 5473 MT of bitumen used for road construction was illegally diverted to MT Stellar Ruby.
