US Seeks Forfeiture of Seized Oil Tankers Linked to Iran

By Charles Gorrivan

Apr 30, 2026 (Bloomberg) –The 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.

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.

US forces boarded the vessels Tifani and Phonix — the latter also known as the Majestic X — 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.

Department of War ??
@DeptofWar

Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.

We will continue global maritime enforcement to… pic.twitter.com/SWF6Jt9Ci4

Apr 23, 2026

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.

Trump’s decision to enforce a naval blockade against Iran, announced on April 12, is a key part of the administration’s “Operation Economic Fury” campaign to squeeze Tehran’s 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.

Bessent on Wednesday told Fox Business that Iran’s Kharg Island “is at a virtual standstill in terms of loadings” of crude. “We think that the Iranian storage will be full soon. They’ll have to start capping in their wells, which will lead to permanent problems,” he added.

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’s economic offensive — and dovetail with the administration’s strategy toward Venezuelan crude after the January ouster of strongman Nicolas Maduro.

As recently as late February, the Justice Department filed a forfeiture claim in US District Court in Washington DC in late February seeking possession of 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude aboard a tanker linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

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. 

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 measures in 2021. A year earlier, the Trump administration also ordered the seizure of four tankers carrying Iranian gasoline bound for Venezuela.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Editorial Standards · Corrections · About gCaptain

This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 106,447 members