By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

At least three vessels sanctioned by the United States have arrived in recent weeks at the demolition hub of Alang on India’s west coast, following a record 15 dark fleet tankers sent to these scrapyards last year, as the business rebounds despite concerns about dealing with sanctioned ships.  

The Woodchip, built in 1993 and sanctioned by the U.S. in 2021 under one of its previous names, is the third tanker to have arrived at Alang in less than a month, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing vessel-tracking data, agent reports, and sources with knowledge of the deals.  

The arrivals reflect changes to the shape of the fleet that ferries sanctioned or sensitive crude around the world, as more aged vessels begin to edge toward retirement at a time of plentiful supply, and US officials embrace Venezuelan crude - ultimately reducing the number needed to serve a trade previously off-limits. According to shipbroker Braemar Plc, some 128 dark tankers once served Caracas exports.

The total number of the U.S.-sanctioned tankers that have arrived at India’s Alang so far this year already accounts for 20% of the 15 vessels of the dark fleet welcomed in 2025, according to Bloomberg’s analysis.  

Dark fleet tankers are much older than legit vessels and could pose environmental threats if left to service sanctioned oil deliveries for too long. 

The increase in tracked arrivals at India’s scrapyards signals that some of the oldest ships of the global shadow fleet are now finally being retired. 

Moreover, the U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the now legit Venezuelan oil sales under U.S. control have reduced the number of vessels needed to haul sanctioned oil. 

The U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil sales in early January and authorized two of the world’s biggest independent traders, Vitol and Trafigura, to market the crude to buyers in the U.S., Europe, India, and China.  

Before the U.S. ousting of Nicolas Maduro, about 128 tankers of the dark fleet served the oil exports of Venezuela, per data from shipbroker Braemar Plc cited by Bloomberg.  

Previously, most Venezuelan exports were going to China, as they were under U.S. sanctions, and used sanctioned vessels to deliver crude mostly to the independent refiners, the so-called teapots, in the province of Shandong.