Iran Seizes Eswatini-Flagged Vessel for Smuggling Fuel

Reuters

Members of the Iranian Navy attend the joint Navy exercise of Iran, China and Russia in the Gulf of Oman, Iran.

Iran seized on Sunday an Eswatini-flagged vessel carrying 350,000 litres of smuggled fuel, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Heydar Honarian-Mojarrad, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy’s Second Naval Zone, said the ship was detained under a judicial order and escorted to the coast of Bushehr for offloading, adding that its 13 crew members were from India and a neighboring country.

Iranian forces regularly target tankers illegally transporting fuel in the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Earlier this month, the IRGC confirmed they had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf.

The company managing the ship later said Iran had released the tanker and its 21 crew members were safe.

The vessel with the name Talara was heading through the Strait of Hormuz when it suddenly changed course towards Iranian waters.

Its seized cargo included “Iranian petrochemical products... illegally transported towards Singapore,” the Iranian news agency Fars said, adding that “the main person responsible was an Iranian individual or company.”

However, Fars said that Talara’s seizure was not taken as a measure against any other nation, but was a purely local matter.

Sources: Reuters, Al Arabiya



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