Iran seizes oil tanker manned by foreigners in Gulf

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday seized an oil tanker in the Gulf carrying more than a dozen foreign crew members, state media reported.

The vessel “was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel with 16 non-Iranian crew members on board,” state television quoted navy commander General Abbas Gholamshahi as saying.

Forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “boarded the ship … as it was leaving Iranian territorial waters,” he added.

It was not immediately clear which flag the ship was flying.

Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships it says are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf.

They regularly target tankers that Tehran accuses of being part of the illicit trade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Wednesday’s seizure is the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent weeks.

Earlier in December authorities seized a tanker in the Gulf of Oman with 18 crew members from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on board.

That interception came days after the United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

According to Washington, the ship’s captain was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran.

The US Treasury sanctioned Venezuela in 2022 over alleged ties to the IRGC and Hezbollah.

Retail fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest in the world, making smuggling fuel to other countries particularly profitable.

Last month, Iran seized an oil tanker in Gulf waters “for carrying an unauthorised cargo”.

Also in November, the IRGC confirmed they had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf.

AFP

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