Iran seizes fuel-smuggling tanker in the Gulf
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Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps capture a foreign oil tanker in the Gulf that was carrying 11 million liters of smuggled fuel.
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IRGC boat seen at undisclosed coordinates in the Gulf, Aug 22, 2019 (Reuters)
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps seized 11 million liters of smuggled fuel, found on a foreign vessel, in the Gulf on Monday, as reported by Iranian media.
The foreign oil tanker's crew is in custody to go through an investigation process and legal proceedings.
"The navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has seized a foreign tanker carrying 11 million liters of smuggled fuel," said Mojtaba Ghahremani, the judiciary chief for Hormozgan province, according to Tasnim.
The exact date of the seizure is not known, and neither is the flag the ship sailed under.
Iran has declared numerous operations in recent months that are intended to combat petroleum smuggling in the Gulf, which is abundant in the area where a significant portion of the world's oil is produced and transported.
Earlier in September, a foreign-registered ship smuggling fuel out of the Gulf has been seized and its crew arrested by the Iranian naval forces according to reports by state media.
An Iranian naval flotilla briefly seized two American military unmanned research vessels in the Red Sea before releasing them, Iranian state media reported on September 2.
