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IRGC impounds ‘unauthorized cargo’ tanker off southern coast
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced in a statement on Saturday that its forces had seized an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf for carrying “unauthorized cargo.”
“Yesterday morning at 7:30, after a judicial authority ordered the seizure of the cargo of an oil tanker with the trade name Talara and the flag of the Marshall Islands, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps rapid reaction units of the naval forces monitored its movements and intercepted and seized it,” the statement said.
“The tanker was found to be in violation of the law by carrying unauthorized cargo," the statement continued, adding that it "was carrying 30,000 tons of petrochemical cargo and was heading to Singapore.”
The IRGC said the “operation was carried out in line with legal duties and for the protection of the national interests and resources of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The vessel had departed from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates and was heading south through the Strait of Hormuz when it was approached by three small boats, after which it made a "sudden course deviation," maritime security company Ambrey said.
The US Navy had earlier said it was "actively monitoring the situation."
“Commercial vessels are entitled to largely unimpeded rights of navigation and commerce on the high seas,” said the US 5th Fleet, which patrols the region.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and liquefied natural gas, has previously been the scene of similar incidents.
In May 2022, IRGC forces seized two Greek tankers and held them until November of that year for violations. They also took the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz in April 2024.