IRGC Seizes Togo-Flagged Oil Tanker

In a statement, the Public Relations Department of the 2nd Naval District of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had seized an oil tanker carrying more than 1,500,000 liters of smuggled fuel under the flag of Togo and 12 crew members of Indian and Sri Lankan nationalities in the Persian Gulf and transferred it to the port of Bushehr. The operation was carried out on Sunday evening July 21.

The origin and destination of the oil tanker has been registered in the port of Sharjah in the UAE.

The Global Maritime Risk Management Ambry confirmed the ship’s information, saying the incident occurred on Sunday 61 nautical miles southwest of the Iranian port city of Bushehr and was unlikely to be politically motivated. Therefore, it is not evaluated as a war incident.

Fuel is one of Iran’s assets, and its trade outside the state system is illegal and is considered an act of smuggling. The seizure of the vessel is also in line with the IRGC Navy’s fight against the smuggling of fuel to neighboring countries. The IRGC Navy had previously seized three ships carrying fuel smuggled from Iran in the Persian Gulf in December and February last year.