Ocean’s legal grey zone: What’s costing mariners their lives?
Deaths of Indian mariners, amid US–Iran tensions, have exposed deep cracks in global maritime governance.
Plastic bottles filled with cold water lay on the body of a dead sailor aboard MT Celestial as his crewmates appealed to authorities for its swift transportation ashore. In the video that has since been circulated widely, they say, “The body has started to decay… there is no facility for refrigeration.”
The crew alleged Nishanth Uirthanathan, 35, died on June 11 as result of the shipowner’s medical negligence. This is the fourth death of an Indian mariner in the region within a week. Three other seafarers were killed in an US attack on MT Settebello, one of the three vessels struck off the coast of Oman for “illicit transport” and “violations of the US blockade”.
All these four vessels are being linked to the “shadow fleet”.
These ships, typically aging tankers, themselves are not illegal unlike the term suggests. Most are registered under a ‘flag of convenience’ in countries that offer lenient regulations. However, their opaque ownership structures, obscure origin, and shell companies facilitate more than ease of trade. In absence of a universal maritime law, they often operate in a legal grey zone.
These vessels are often central to avoiding taxes, port fees, or environmental regulations, and facilitating transport of sanctioned cargo. For seafarers, it is marked by poor working conditions, high-risk operations and the management’s limited accountability.
Why is it a legal grey zone?
In a fragmented international system, where sanctions are imposed by individual states or blocs rather than a universal authority, the legality of shadow-fleet operations depends on whose laws are being applied. During conflicts, amid polarised geopolitics, this ambiguity multiplies.
Since the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine war and US–Iran tensions, there has been a surge in sanctions imposed by the US and Europe on oil exports from countries such as Russia and Iran.
Parallelly, the presence of shadow or ghost fleets have also increased. As per data platform Kpler, “By December 2025, roughly 3,300 vessels were operating in shadow networks, moving approximately 3,733 million barrels of oil—about 6-7% of global crude flows.”
American think-tank Atlantic Council said in an April 2026 report, “As of early 2026, the European Union has listed nearly six hundred shadow vessels by adding them to the list ‘of those subject to a port access ban and ban on provision of a broad range of services related to maritime transport.’ More than four hundred ships have been sanctioned by the EU, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.”
It also noted that “the Baltic Sea countries, France, India, and others have inspected and detained more shadow-fleet vessels than in prior years”.
These ships often transmit misleading GPS coordinates, turn off AIS tracking systems, or even fly false flags to bypass sanctions. Some reports say their evasive tactics include ship-to-ship transfers at night. In case of a crisis, owners even abandon the ship, leaving the crew to its own device, stranded for months.
India law, however, does not restrict seafarers from working on ships linked to shadow-fleet operations, or even those in poor maintenance conditions, or lacking proper insurance as is the case with many shadow vessels.
Many facilitate the transport of sanctioned Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian oil which is sold in the international market, imported by several countries including India and China.
Despite the ships treading a fine line, the US missile strikes point to significant escalation. However, the US government said a warning was issued prior to the attack and 15 minutes were given to the MT Settebello crew to exit the engine room before the shots were fired.
The Central Command’s official statement read: “After being in place for more than 60 days, it should be clear by now that US forces will strictly enforce the blockade.” Reuters quoted the defence force as saying that action followed “after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces.”
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, however, said that the Indian government has reiterated “strong protest”, and “such legal actions against commercial shipping are not justified”.
Mariners’ union Forward Seamen’s Union of India has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the Centre “issue immediate advisories to Indian shipping companies and vessels to exercise extreme caution or avoid the Shinas Anchorage maritime zone or the Oman Outer Port Limit (OPL) areas”.