Iran seized the Togo-flagged tanker Pearl G in the Gulf on Friday, according to Tehran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
As reported by Reuters, the vessel was carrying 700,000 liters of smuggled Iranian crude and was reportedly offloading oil from Iranian ships. Owned by an Iraqi national residing in the UAE, the Pearl G has since been moved to the port of Bandar Imam Khomeini.
Iran has been grappling with rampant fuel smuggling, both by land to neighboring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states. The country benefits from some of the world’s cheapest fuel due to government subsidies and a significant decline in the value of its currency.
LSEG tracking data indicates that the Pearl G had been operating in the region, sailing between the coast of Sharjah in the UAE and various points off the coast of Iraq over the past 90 days.
The tanker, which has a crew of nine Indians, was seized under a judicial order, with its registered manager identified as Jinsung Marine Service Co Ltd.
This incident follows last week’s seizure of another Togo-flagged tanker by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil.
Earlier this month, Iran has released the oil cargo from the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged tanker it had seized in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, according to a shipping source who spoke to Reuters.