U.S. forces board the stateless tanker\u00a0Tifani\u00a0(IMO: 9273337) without incident inside the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility. Photo from Department of War video<\/p>\n
US Seeks Forfeiture of Seized Oil Tankers Linked to Iran<\/p>\n
Apr 30, 2026 (Bloomberg) \u2013The US is seeking forfeiture of two Iran-linked oil tankers seized by naval forces enforcing a blockade against the Islamic Republic, according to a senior administration official.<\/p>\n
The US Department of Justice has initiated the forfeiture process, the official said, without elaborating on what that entails or whether it signals an intent to seize the crude on board. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, declined to detail what will ultimately happen to the vessels or comment on their current routes, citing operational security.<\/p>\n
US forces boarded the vessels<\/p>\n
\u2014 the latter also known as the<\/p>\n
\u2014 last week in the general vicinity of Sri Lanka, according to the Pentagon. The tankers continued to sail across the Indian Ocean in the following days, and appeared to make several course reversals.<\/p>\n
The US and Iran have been enforcing dual blockades in and around the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump ratchets up economic pressure on Tehran and the Islamic Republic seeks to counter American pressure.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s decision to enforce a naval blockade against Iran,<\/p>\n
on April 12, is a key part of the administration\u2019s \u201cOperation Economic Fury\u201d campaign to squeeze Tehran\u2019s oil revenue and build leverage for nuclear talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly said the blockade is preventing Iran from shipping its oil so that crude builds up in storage and forces the country to shut off producing wells, stopping revenue that funds soldiers and proxy groups.<\/p>\n
Bessent on Wednesday told Fox Business that Iran\u2019s Kharg Island \u201cis at a virtual standstill in terms of loadings\u201d of crude. \u201cWe think that the Iranian storage will be full soon. They\u2019ll have to start capping in their wells, which will lead to permanent problems,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
In several cases where ship captains have attempted to test the US blockade, naval forces have directed intercepted vessels back to Persian Gulf ports. Confiscating oil cargoes aboard Iran-linked vessels would represent an escalation of Trump\u2019s economic offensive \u2014 and dovetail with the administration\u2019s strategy toward Venezuelan crude after the January ouster of strongman Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n
As recently as late February, the Justice Department filed a forfeiture claim in US District Court in Washington DC in late February<\/p>\n
of 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude aboard a tanker linked to Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department uses asset forfeiture as a legal tool to seize property suspected of being connected to criminal activity, often through proceedings against the asset itself rather than an individual.<\/p>\n
The US also took such action in 2023, when it ordered a tanker carrying China-bound Iranian crude to divert to the US, following similar<\/p>\n
in 2021. A year earlier, the Trump administration also<\/p>\n
the seizure of four tankers carrying Iranian gasoline bound for Venezuela.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n