Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has seized a Togo-flagged, UAE-managed tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil, according to statements from the IRGC and British security firm Ambrey.
According to Reuters, the vessel had departed from the coast of Iraq, heading to Sharjah in the UAE, when it was intercepted 112 nautical kilometers southwest of Iran’s Bushehr port on July 21. The IRGC’s Navy confirmed the seizure, stating that the tanker was involved in systematic fuel smuggling and was taken by judicial order. The vessel, with its 12 crew members of Indian and Sri Lankan nationality, has been moved to Bushehr anchorage for supervision.
Iran has been actively combating fuel smuggling, driven by its heavily subsidized fuel prices and the depreciation of its currency, making its fuel among the cheapest globally. The interception is viewed as a counter-smuggling operation rather than a politically motivated action, according to Ambrey.
To remind, Iran recently released a another seized tanker, the Advantage Sweet. On April 27, 2023, the Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker, Advantage Sweet, was forcibly seized by the Iranian Navy while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman.
