Iran Captures Vessel Transporting 4 Million Liters of Illicit Fuel

On Wednesday, the news website affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that a vessel was confiscated within Iran’s territorial waters while carrying 4 million liters of illicit fuel.

The IRGC’s First Naval Zone Commander, Brigadier General Abbas Gholamshahi, reported the detention of 16 crew members from the vessel, all of whom are non-Iranian nationals, during the recent operation.

Gholamshahi noted that the tanker was integral to a coordinated fuel-smuggling operation in the area, with intentions to transfer its cargo to larger ships beyond the Persian Gulf.

He reported that the vessel and its crew are now under the jurisdiction of judicial authorities, further stating that the future of the confiscated fuel will be decided based on Iranian laws and regulations.

“The commander stated that any efforts to circumvent regulations and unlawfully transport fuel beyond territorial waters will be addressed with prompt and firm action.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has intensified its efforts to combat fuel smuggling in the Persian Gulf as incidents continue to rise. Experts believe this surge is driven by the increasing disparity between Iran’s low domestic fuel prices and the higher prices in adjacent nations.

In late November, authorities intercepted a vessel flying the Eswatini flag, discovered to be transporting 350,000 liters of illicit fuel.

In an unrelated incident capturing global headlines in mid-November, the IRGC detained a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker located just beyond Iran’s territorial waters. The vessel was allegedly transporting an unauthorized petrochemical shipment claimed to belong to Iran.

The vessel known as Talara was released shortly after its cargo had been successfully offloaded, which occurred just days later.