Iran seizes foreign oil tanker for carrying 'unauthorised' cargo

Iran has confirmed that it had seized a tanker in Gulf waters carrying a cargo of petrochemicals bound for Singapore over alleged violations, Iranian state media reported.

A US official and maritime security sources had said on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the oil products tanker and “diverted it into Iranian territorial waters”.

It was the first report of Tehran seizing a tanker since Israeli-US strikes on Iran in June.

Iranian state-run television aired a statement from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday, saying that "the tanker violated carrying unauthorised cargo".

It did not provide further details of the alleged violations.

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the Talara, had been sailing off the United Arab Emirates' coast, maritime sources said, and was carrying a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil through the Indian Ocean en route to Singapore from Sharjah in the UAE.

The vessel's manager, Columbia Shipmanagement, said it lost contact with the Talara Friday morning around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan, UAE.

It added that it was working closely with relevant parties, including maritime security agencies and the vessel's owner, to restore contact.

The ship is owned by Pasha Finance.

In a statement, the US military said it was aware of the incident and was actively monitoring the situation.

Iran's IRGC has periodically seized commercial vessels in recent years, often citing maritime violations such as alleged smuggling, technical infractions or legal disputes.

However, the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident was surprising since Iran had not carried out any such operations in recent months.

Iran's last reported seizure of a vessel was in April 2024.

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Source: TRT