The Delhi High Court has taken action by sending a formal request to the Central government, urging them to instruct Indian government authorities to conduct a search operation at the Russian port of Vysotsk. The purpose of this search is to locate Vikram Patel, who has gone missing while aboard a ship transporting Russian oil to India and Turkey.

Justice Subramonium Prasad has instructed the government to submit its response within a period of four weeks. The case has been scheduled for additional review on February 2, 2024.

Vikram Patel, aged 42, was on board a vessel that was en route from Ust-Luga Anch in Russia to Mersin, Turkey and was reported missing on August 10.

Lloyd's List defines a ship as part of the dark fleet if it meets certain criteria. Specifically, a vessel is classified as part of the dark fleet if it is anonymously owned and/or has a corporate structure that is deliberately designed to obscure the discovery of beneficial ownership. These ships are typically exclusively used in sanctioned oil trade.

Kamala Patel, the spouse of the missing seaman Vikram Patel, has approached the High Court and mentioned that she received a phone call on August 11, 2023, from her husband's employers. During the call, she was informed that her husband had gone missing, and it was reported that Vikram Patel was last seen by his colleagues on August 10th.

The court was informed that Oceanonesm, the company employing Vikram Patel, provided his wife with contact details for Captain Jagdeep Kahlon to seek further information about the search operations. Subsequently, the petitioner and her family members made repeated attempts to reach out to Captain Jagdeep via phone calls, including calls made on the dates of August 11, 2023, August 12, 2023, August 13, 2023, and August 14, 2023, up to the present day. However, it was disconcerting that during each of these occasions, they received information that was self-contradictory, conflicting, and inconsistent. In addition to phone calls, the family also sent multiple emails to the company in their quest for updates, but unfortunately, they did not receive any reliable information from the company.

Furthermore, the petitioner was informed by the Indian government that the Danish authorities were actively investigating the incident, and they assured her that a report on the matter would be provided soon.

Despite these assurances, the petitioner, who is Vikram Patel's wife, has not received any response or updates regarding the investigation to date. She and her family have tirelessly sought information regarding the search for Vikram Patel, but their efforts have not yielded any meaningful information, as conveyed to the Court.

In light of the lack of progress and information regarding the search for Vikram Patel, the petitioner has requested the Court to intervene and instruct the Indian government to take charge of the search operations. Furthermore, she has asked for the search to be conducted in a transparent manner to ensure that all efforts are made to locate her missing husband.