A ship without certification becomes invisible to the legitimate world
India's ship classification authority, IRClass, has quietly redefined its place in the global sanctions order — striking 235 vessels from its rolls since 2023 and aligning itself with Western restrictions on Russia and Iran. The move carries real weight: a ship without classification struggles to find insurance or enter port, making the registry a lever of considerable geopolitical force. Yet in closing one door, the action may open another — pushing displaced vessels deeper into the unregulated shadow fleet, where neither safety standards nor environmental protections follow.
- IRClass has cancelled certification for 235 ships — mostly oil tankers — since 2023, stripping roughly 13 million tonnes of capacity from its rolls in a sweeping compliance overhaul.
- Losing classification is not merely administrative: it cuts vessels off from insurance markets and hostile ports, making IRClass's decision a meaningful instrument of economic pressure.
- India's move stands in deliberate contrast to China, which recently ordered its companies to defy US sanctions on Iranian oil purchases — signaling diverging strategies among major non-Western economies.
- Maritime security experts warn that delisting sanctioned ships does not neutralize them — it drives them toward the shadow fleet, where they operate without insurance, oversight, or safety compliance.
- IRClass's own chief executive admits the registry can police ownership but has no visibility into what a certified vessel actually carries once it leaves port — a gap that sanctions evasion readily exploits.
India's largest ship registry, IRClass, has been quietly enforcing a harder line on sanctions compliance — removing 235 vessels, mostly oil tankers, from its rolls since 2023. The cancelled certifications represent around 13 million tonnes of shipping capacity that the Mumbai-based organization deemed too compromised to stand behind.
The stakes of such a decision are not merely bureaucratic. Classification from a recognized registry is the key that unlocks insurance coverage and port access; without it, a ship's commercial life becomes acutely difficult. IRClass chief executive Arun Sharma described the shift as an 'exhaustive' new sanctions policy — one that refuses certification to any vessel subject to American, European Union, or British restrictions, particularly those tied to Russia's war in Ukraine and Iran's nuclear and regional activities.
The move places India in notable contrast with China, which recently directed its companies to disregard US sanctions against Chinese refineries purchasing Iranian oil. India, itself a major oil importer, declined a Russian offer to supply liquefied natural gas under American sanctions — and the registry's enforcement posture reflects that broader diplomatic orientation.
But the campaign carries a troubling irony that experts are reluctant to ignore. Vessels expelled from legitimate registries do not simply disappear — they migrate toward the shadow fleet, the growing collection of uninsured, unregulated ships that already enable Iran and Russia to move oil beyond the reach of Western enforcement. These vessels present serious environmental and safety hazards, particularly when carrying crude through busy shipping lanes without proper oversight.
Sharma acknowledged the limits of what a registry can actually do. IRClass can scrutinize ownership and refuse certification accordingly, but once a ship leaves port, the organization has no mechanism to monitor its cargo or route. A vessel that appears compliant today may be hauling sanctioned oil tomorrow. That gap between certification authority and operational reality is precisely where the shadow fleet finds room to grow — and where the unintended consequences of stricter enforcement quietly accumulate.
India's largest ship registry is drawing a harder line on vessels caught up in international sanctions evasion. Since 2023, the Indian Register of Shipping—known as IRClass and based in Mumbai—has struck 235 ships from its rolls, mostly oil tankers and some gas carriers. The removals represent roughly 13 million tonnes of shipping capacity that the registry deemed too compromised to certify.
IRClass occupies a critical position in global maritime infrastructure. When a ship loses its classification from a major registry like this one, the practical consequences are severe: insurers become reluctant to cover it, and ports grow hostile to its arrival. The registry's decision to enforce sanctions compliance more rigorously marks a shift in how India is positioning itself on the question of Western restrictions targeting Russia and Iran—a notable stance given India's historical willingness to work around such constraints.
Arun Sharma, the organization's chief executive, explained the reasoning in stark terms. The registry had previously hosted a collection of vessels entangled in Western sanctions, but that tolerance has ended. Starting in 2023, IRClass adopted what Sharma called an "exhaustive" sanctions policy. The organization now refuses to certify any ship subject to American, European Union, or British sanctions—a direct response to the restrictions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and on Iran over its nuclear program and other activities.
This represents a deliberate departure from China's approach. Just weeks before IRClass tightened its stance, Beijing ordered Chinese companies to ignore American sanctions against five Chinese refineries for purchasing Iranian oil. India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, took a different route by rejecting a Russian offer to sell liquefied natural gas under American sanctions. The Indian registry's enforcement action aligns with that diplomatic choice.
Yet the delisting campaign carries an unintended consequence that troubles maritime security experts. By removing sanctioned vessels from legitimate registries, the action pushes them toward what the industry calls the shadow fleet—uninsured, unregulated ships that operate in the gaps between enforcement. Hundreds of these vessels have already enabled Iran and Russia to circumvent sanctions, but they also pose acute environmental and safety hazards. A shadow fleet tanker carrying crude oil through crowded shipping lanes without proper insurance or safety certification is a potential ecological catastrophe waiting to happen.
Sharma acknowledged the paradox. IRClass cannot accept ships owned by Iranian or Russian entities, but the organization has limited visibility into what cargo a vessel actually carries once it leaves port. A ship that appears clean on the registry today might be hauling Iranian crude tomorrow, and IRClass has no mechanism to monitor or prevent that. The registry can enforce rules about who owns a ship; it cannot police what that ship transports or where it goes. That gap between certification authority and operational reality is where sanctions evasion finds room to breathe, and where the shadow fleet continues to grow.
Notable Quotes
Practically from 2023 onward, we are not accepting any ship that has any kind of sanction, whether from the United States, the European Union, or the United Kingdom— Arun Sharma, CEO of IRClass
Today we can accept a ship that is not Russian or Iranian according to the registry, and tomorrow it is transporting oil from Iran somewhere. We have no control over that— Arun Sharma, CEO of IRClass
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that India's ship registry is delisting these vessels? They're just removing names from a list.
Because a ship without certification from a major registry becomes a pariah. No insurance company will touch it. Most ports won't let it dock. It's not just paperwork—it's the difference between operating as a legitimate vessel and becoming invisible.
So IRClass is trying to enforce sanctions by making it harder for sanctioned ships to function?
Exactly. But here's the tension: by making it harder for these ships to operate legally, you're actually pushing them into the shadow fleet, where they operate with no oversight at all. That's worse for everyone.
Worse how?
A ship without insurance and without safety certification is a floating environmental disaster. If it spills oil in the Strait of Malacca, there's no compensation mechanism, no liability. And it's probably not maintaining its hull properly because it has no incentive to.
So India is trying to comply with Western sanctions, but the effect might be to create more dangerous shipping?
That's the paradox Sharma himself pointed out. You can refuse to certify a ship, but you can't control what cargo it carries once it's at sea. The registry has enforcement power at the gate, but no visibility into what happens after.
Does this mean sanctions don't work?
It means they work unevenly. They do constrain legitimate operators. But they also create incentives for illegitimate ones to operate in darker corners. The question is whether the compliance gains outweigh the safety costs.