Iran Seizes Oil Tanker Off UAE Coast Amid Escalating Gulf Tensions

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps naval forces have seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TALARA approximately 20 nautical miles east of Khawr Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports from the UK Maritime Trade Operations office and maritime security analysts.

The incident, which occurred in the Gulf of Oman while the vessel was en route from the UAE to Singapore, marks the first Iranian seizure of a commercial ship not engaged in fuel smuggling since the MSC Aries was taken in April 2024, according to Martin Kelly, Head of Advisory at EOS Risk Group.

“The incident is believed to be state activity; the vessel is transiting towards Iranian territorial waters,” UKMTO stated in its advisory, urging vessels to “transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

“We are aware of the incident involving the Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Talara,” the U.S. 5th Fleet said in a statement. “We are actively monitoring the situation. Commercial vessels are entitled to largely unimpeded rights of navigation and commerce on the high seas.”

“Contact was lost at around 0822 local time (0422 UTC) on Friday … approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates,” the vessel’s manager Columbia Shipmanagement said in a statement reported by Reuters. The ship is reportedly owned by Cyprus-based Pasha Finance.

Iran has not yet publicly acknowledged the seizure, though previous incidents of this nature have typically been linked to geopolitical tensions.

“Regional context is important when understanding risk at the tactical level,” Kelly noted, pointing to several factors that may have precipitated the action.

The Iranian seizure comes against a backdrop of mounting economic pressure on Tehran. “Recently, the United States and E3 have increased sanctions on Iranian oil exports in a bid to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions which has seen a rapid decline in the value in of the Iranian Rial,” Kelly tweeted.

Domestically, Iran faces an unprecedented drought that has caused unrest, with residents of Tehran advised to prepare for potential evacuation due to water shortages, according to Kelly, with critics claiming this stems from Iran prioritizing weapons programs over national infrastructure development.

The timing is also significant, coming just days after the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen announced a suspension of maritime operations against Israel and ended its naval blockade of Israeli ports.

During the April 2024 seizure of MSC Aries, Iranian forces boarded that Portuguese-flagged containership via helicopter and redirected it into Iranian waters, citing violations of maritime laws and failure to respond to Iranian authorities. Iran also pointed to the vessel’s links to Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer through Zodiac Maritime, which partly owns the ship’s operator.

While the crew of 25 aboard MSC Aries was eventually released about a month later, Iran continues to maintain control of the vessel a year and half later.

Maritime law experts have questioned the legal basis for Iran’s actions, particularly regarding boarding in international waters and freedom of navigation concerns.

Authorities continue to investigate the TALARA seizure as the vessel moves toward Iranian territorial waters.

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