At least seven Russian ships, which have been sanctioned by the United States for their ties to shipping companies that have historically transported weapons on behalf of the Russian government, have docked in India over the past month, highlighting the challenges facing the Biden -Government faces enforcing sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies on Moscow to isolate the Kremlin over February’s invasion of Ukraine.

An analysis of maritime traffic from more than 100 US-sanctioned Russian ships shows that six cargo ships and at least one oil tanker have docked in India in the past month. Although it is not known what was on board, the ships were targeted by the US Treasury Department this year for their affiliation with sanctioned Russian shipping companies that have a history of transporting weapons on behalf of the Russian government.

“These ships and their owners are repeat offenders that analysts have been watching for years,” said Jack Margolin, program director for the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a nonprofit organization that tracks global illegal networks and sanctions compliance. Margolin provided data on the sanctioned Russian ships foreign policy. “They have a history of supporting both Russia’s sanctions circumvention and the arms trade.”

At least seven Russian ships, which have been sanctioned by the United States for their ties to shipping companies that have historically transported weapons on behalf of the Russian government, have docked in India over the past month, highlighting the challenges facing the Biden -Government faces enforcing sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies on Moscow to isolate the Kremlin over February’s invasion of Ukraine.

An analysis of maritime traffic from more than 100 US-sanctioned Russian ships shows that six cargo ships and at least one oil tanker have docked in India in the past month. Although it is not known what was on board, the ships were targeted by the US Treasury Department this year for their affiliation with sanctioned Russian shipping companies that have a history of transporting weapons on behalf of the Russian government.

“These ships and their owners are repeat offenders that analysts have been watching for years,” said Jack Margolin, a program director wwith the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a nonprofit organization that tracks global illegal networks and sanctions compliance. Margolin provided data on the sanctioned Russian ships foreign policy. “They have a history of supporting both Russia’s sanctions circumvention and the arms trade.”

Two of the sanctioned cargo ships that Eagle and the Askalonwere previously involved in delivering a shipment of S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia to China in 2018 while operating under different names, according to an investigation by the independent Russian news site Medusa. A second ship, the maya 1calling at the port of Cochin is reported have shipped military equipment. The oil tanker, the Indawas before accused the shipment of Iranian crude oil by the US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran.

“Networks like this will continue to be a lifeline for Russia and its war effort as long as they can address gaps in enforcement,” Margolin said.

India’s dealings with sanctioned Russian ships are not in direct violation of US sanctions, which only prevent US citizens and entities from doing business with blacklisted Russian companies. But it could expose India to secondary sanctions for dealing with sanctioned Russian companies, said Daniel Fried, a retired career diplomat who served as the US State Department’s sanctions coordinator during Russia’s first attack on Ukraine in 2014. “In a sanctions regime as broad and extensive as what we have against Russia, enforcement will be crucial,” he said.

Spokespersons for the US National Security Council, the Treasury Department and the Indian Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment on the story.

India’s continued trade with Russia has left the Biden administration in a bind as it tries to persuade India, one of the world’s largest economies, to rein in its arms and oil purchases from Moscow without alienating New Delhi, which is responsible for the The government’s central Indo-Pacific strategy, including a revived Quadrilateral Security Dialogue alliance alongside Japan and Australia. In March, US President Joe Biden’s Deputy National Security Advisor, Daleep Singh, on a trip to India, warned that there would be “consequences” for countries trying to circumvent US sanctions on Russia while the US consulate in Mumbai is wrote in June to the city’s port authority with a request to block the entrance to Russian ships.

“I know that for several months the government has been quietly warning countries, including India, I believe, to avoid providing material support to sanctioned Russian companies,” Fried said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine posed a dilemma for New Delhi, which abstained in an earlier March vote at the United Nations General Assembly condemning the attack and has long maintained a position of strategic autonomy. About 85 percent of India’s military equipment is of Russian or Soviet origin, and the country has relied on Moscow to procure and develop cutting-edge technologies, including air defenses, supersonic cruise missiles and nuclear naval propulsion, according to an analysis by the Stimson Center.

“[India] has long viewed Russia as a loyal and potentially trustworthy friend fighting for India on the global stage,” said Michael Kugelman, associate director of the Asia program at the Wilson Center.

Although Europe and the United States have tried to wean their economies off Russian energy in a bid to cut off one of the Kremlin’s most lucrative sources of revenue, India’s imports of Russian crude flooded by almost 300 percent between January and April this year, with coal imports increasing by 345 percent over the same period. Yet Russia accounts for only a fraction of India’s oil imports, and the subcontinent’s dependence on Russian energy pales in comparison to Europe’s energy dependence on Moscow.

While Moscow has vowed for years to turn to Asian economies to protect itself from Western sanctions, it’s a strategy experts say has its limits. An analysis of calls by Russian flag vessels in Asian ports between March and July this year is provided foreign policy the global maritime analytics provider sea ​​transport, shows a slight decrease in stopovers compared to the same period last year. The exception is India, where the traffic of ships flying the Russian flag has almost quadrupled.

“New Delhi has tried to present its decision to continue trade with Russia as a purely economic decision, nothing less, nothing more,” Kugelman said.