TEHRAN, Nov 15: Iran’s powerful paramilitary unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has confirmed it seized a commercial tanker as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, the latest in a series of maritime interceptions in one of the world’s busiest energy corridors.
The Talara, a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel travelling from the UAE to Singapore, was taken into Iranian custody on Friday morning after the IRGC alleged it was “in violation of the law by carrying unauthorised cargo”.
Iranian authorities did not specify the nature of the alleged breach, though reports suggest the tanker had been transporting high-sulphur gasoil, reports European media.
The seizure is the latest in a pattern of Iranian actions targeting vessels in and around the Persian Gulf, where Tehran has frequently detained tankers on accusations ranging from smuggling to commercial disputes.
The waterway has since then become the flashpoint of a potential regional war, particularly after the conclusion of the 12-day war in June between Iran and Israel, during which Israeli and later the US forces carried out strikes on multiple Iranian nuclear sites, arms depots, and missile manufacturing areas, while Tehran also launched retaliatory missile attacks.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which oversees security operations across the region, said it was “actively monitoring the situation”, adding that commercial ships are entitled to “largely unimpeded rights of navigation and commerce on the high seas”.
According to maritime security firm Ambrey, the Talara had departed Ajman in the UAE and was sailing south through the Strait when three small craft approached, prompting the tanker to make a “sudden course deviation”.
The vessel’s management company said it lost communication with the crew early on Friday while the ship was positioned roughly 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khorfakkan, near Sharjah.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre likewise confirmed that it had received reports of the incident and urged vessels transiting the area to proceed with caution and report suspicious activity.
Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz amid its increasingly heightened tensions with Washington, Jerusalem, and Western Europe.
The tensions – already very high – become worse after the UN reimposed the pre-nuclear deal sanctions, resulting in what is considered Tehran’s retaliatory response.
The rhetoric intensified during the June conflict, and follows earlier incidents, including the IRGC’s seizure of a ship linked to Israel in April 2024 after the attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most economically vital maritime lanes, as well as one of the most strategically critical and sensitive chokepoints, as this narrow stretch controls more than 20 percent of the global oil and gas supplies, as both importer and exporter vessels must move through this narrow passage.
Some of the key importers include economic powerhouses like India, China, South Korea, and Japan, while the primary exporters of crude comprise Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
In the first half of 2023, around 20 million barrels of crude passed through the strait each day – energy trade worth nearly USD 600bn annually, according to US Energy Information Administration figures.
Blocking it would have profound consequences for the global economy, disrupting international trade and ratcheting up oil prices, as well as cause massive inflation in countries which import crude oil via the Strait, disrupt global shipping, manufacturing, cause an economic crisis in Gulf states, and while it would also be equivalent to economic suicide by Iran, the closure of the Strip could have potentially unprecedented repercussions globally.
(UNI)
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