Dismantling Oil’s Dark Fleet Leaves India at Risk of Trump's Ire

Along a stretch of beach in northwest India, a dormant graveyard for ships is stirring again, driven by an aging “dark fleet” of tankers ferrying restricted oil – just as the country’s dependence on Russian crude put it firmly in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs.

The silhouettes of cranes loom over the coastline of Alang, where metal cut from the hulls of tankers are delivered to laborers decked out in helmets, overalls, goggles, gloves and boots. The workers will busy themselves around the carcass of a single ship for months in unforgiving heat that can reach 40C (104F), slicing and hammering at sheets of steel stripped from the vessels.