The US Navy intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged oil tankers in the Asian waters, preventing them from sailing through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz amid its intense port blockade in the Persian Gulf to stifle Iran's trade via the sea.
The ships were diverted from their position near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka as they attempted to traverse the maritime blockade, the security and shipping sources confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), meanwhile, imposed its own blockade of the vessels in the Hormuz waterway. According to the UK Maritime Agency, Iranian forces, for the first time, targeted the container ships, seizing at least two and escorting them to the Iranian waters.
Evading Blockade: Ships Transit Hormuz By 'Switching Off' Responders
The Iranian forces accused the two commercial ships-MSC Francesca and Epaminondas- of trying to transit the maritime artery despite the blockade by switching off the transponders and ignoring warnings from the Iranian Armed Forces. The ships, one linked with Israel, lacked the necessary permit and had been "tampering with the navigation systems," Iranian broadcaster IRIB stated on Telegram.
Of the vessels that were seized by the US military, the Iranian-flagged supertanker Dorena, escorted by the US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean, failed to discharge Iranian oil in India as the US waiver on the sanctioned Iranian oil expired on Sunday.
The ship, loaded with 2 million barrels of crude purchased from Tehran, was last seen off India's western coast before it was intercepted by the US forces, two US and Indian sources and two western maritime security sources told Reuters, requesting anonymity.
Another smaller vessel, the Iranian-flagged Deep Sea supertanker, also partly loaded with crude, was sailing with the transponder off Malaysia's coast.
In a post on X, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that Dorena was escorted by a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after it attempted to violate the US blockade.
(US forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska, April 20, as the Iranian-flagged vessel's container cargo is searched after US Marines boarded and seized the ship when it attempted to violate the US naval blockade. Credit: CENTCOM)
UN Condemns US, Iran's 'Reckless' Actions
As both Iran and the US enforce their own blockade in the strategically vital sea lane that sees a fifth of global oil and the LNG transits, the head of the UN's International Maritime Organisation condemned the harassment and seizure of the cargo containers as "unacceptable."
I once again call for these reckless actions to cease and for any ships and innocent seafarers to be released immediately, the body's Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said.
Since the start of its blockade against vessels entering and exiting the Gulf, the US military has turned around more than 29 ships to the port. While the American forces claim that the blockade is being implemented with full force, ship tracking data and other sources establish that several Iranian vessels have managed to evade it and have sailed in the narrow waterway from one direction.
Data compiled by the monitoring firm Marine Insight shows more than 20 vessels transited on April 16 alone, even as some ships were ordered to turn back or reroute. The same day, US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Dan Caine announced "expansion" of the blockade to intercept Iranian vessels carrying oil globally, including the "dark fleet" tankers in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.