Iran Seizes Foreign Oil Tanker With 18 Crew Members

"Iranian judicial authorities have seized a foreign oil tanker and detained its 18 crew members in the Sea of Oman. Reports in Iranian media said the ship seized on December 12 was carrying some 6 million liters of smuggled fuel. Citing provincial judiciary officials in southern Hormozgan Province, Tasnim News Agency said the tanker was impounded after it was intercepted and inspected off the port city of Jask in Iranian-controlled waters."

"He said the tanker also lacked proper navigational and cargo documents and had its radar turned off. The crew was "deliberately destroying the ship's equipment at the time of the seizure," Ghahremani said. Fars, another semiofficial news agency, reported that the crew was being questioned. It said the crew members were from South Asian nations, including India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Ghahremani did not name the country that owned the vessel."

"Tehran has a history of seizing ships in the Persian Gulf, a vital waterway for global fuel supplies. Over the years, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has accused most of the seized tankers of carrying smuggled fuel, but it failed to substantiate such accusations. Last month, the IRGC confirmed the seizure of a foreign tanker named Talara. It was seized on November 14, a day after reports said an oil tanker had diverted from the United Arab Emirates to Iranian waters."

Iranian judicial authorities seized a foreign oil tanker on December 12 in the Sea of Oman and detained its 18 crew members. Iranian media reported the vessel carried about 6 million liters of smuggled fuel and was intercepted and inspected off the port city of Jask in Iranian-controlled waters. Officials said the tanker lacked proper navigational and cargo documents, had its radar turned off, and that crew members were deliberately destroying ship equipment during the seizure. Fars reported the crew included nationals from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The vessel's ownership was not named. The seizure follows previous incidents involving the IRGC and recent related actions by the United States.

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