Iran confirmed today that it had seized an oil tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday for violations, including transporting an illegal shipment, the Associated Press reported, citing Iranian state media, BTA reported.
Iran's IRNA news agency published a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stating that the tanker was taken into Iranian territorial waters. It did not give details about the "illegal shipment", the crew or the vessel's location.
However, the statement said the seizure was carried out by a court order and the operation was aimed at "protecting Iran's national interests and resources". The tanker, known as the "Talara", was said to be carrying 30,000 tonnes of petrochemical products.
Tehran has increasingly warned it could retaliate after a 12-day war with Israel in June, during which the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, the AP noted.
According to IRNA, the tanker was sailing to Singapore when it was stopped by Iranian forces. British maritime security company "Ambri" (Ambrey) reported that three small boats were involved in the operation to seize it.
A US Navy MQ-4C Triton unmanned strategic reconnaissance aircraft hovered over the area where the tanker was located for several hours yesterday, monitoring its seizure by Iranian authorities, according to flight tracking data analyzed by the AP.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Organization (UKMTO) confirmed the incident and said that "state action" likely caused the tanker to deviate from its route and enter Iranian territorial waters.
Cypriot company Columbia Shipmanagement said it had "lost contact" with the tanker. with the crew of the vessel, which it said was transporting gas oil. The company did not provide any further information today.
Iran has been blamed for a series of ship-mine attacks that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as a 2021 drone attack on an Israeli-bound oil tanker that killed two European crew members. These began after Donald Trump, during his first term as US president, unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme in 2018. A similar serious incident occurred in May 2022, when Iran seized two Greek tankers, which it subsequently released in November of that year. In April 2024, Tehran seized the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC Aries, the AP noted.
In June, years of tension between Iran and the West, combined with the situation in the Gaza Strip, escalated into a full-scale 12-day war in June with Israel, during which the United States also struck Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran has long threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow entrance to the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes. The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, patrols the area to keep the waterways open, the AP noted.