India’s Directorate General of Shipping is reporting that 10 Indian nationals detained in Iran for the past 10 months have been released and repatriated. The individuals were working aboard a small product tanker seized by Iran as part of its crackdown on fuel smuggling in the region.
The Directorate General reports the release is the result of a sustained diplomatic effort involving the ministries for shipping and external affairs, the shipping company and its managers, and the Indian embassy in Tehran. It reports that the crewmembers had been detained, arrested, and imprisoned in Iran.
The product tanker Harbour Phoenix (7,628 dwt) was stopped by the Iranians in July 2025. The vessel, which was built in 1994, is managed out of the UAE and registered in Palau. It was accused of smuggling fuel with the Iranian Border Police and the Iranian Navy, saying they worked jointly as part of the continuing efforts started earlier in 2025 to stop fuel smuggling. Iran was also moving to prosecute the crews of vessels caught smuggling with reports of long prision sentences.
The authorities highlighted that they are using electronic equipment and aerial surveillance as well as intelligence reports to track suspected fuel smuggling. The vessel was about 23 miles off Kuh-e Mobarak near Jask when the vessel was stopped for an inspection. They report finding over 2 million liters of diesel fuel aboard. The media is setting the value at $1.8 million.
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The release comes as India has been quietly working to resume its oil shipments from the Middle East. Last week, Iran permitted the first LPG carrier bound for India to make the transit of the Strait of Hormuz, and media reports said India’s External Affairs Minister had met with the Iranians during the BRICS summit in India.
India has emphasized the importance of getting its seafarers trapped in the Persian Gulf out of the area safely along with their vessels. It is reportedly preparing to send additional vessels into the Gulf to load additional oil and, meanwhile, has been buying oil from Russia to fill some of the country’s short-term gaps in supply.