Iran Seizes Ship Carrying 350,000 Litres of Smuggled Fuel In The Persian Gulf

Iran has seized a vessel said to be carrying 350,000 litres of smuggled gas oil (diesel) from the country.

The Eswatini-flagged ship was stopped in the Persian Gulf, and its 13 crew members, hailing from India and a neighbouring country, have also been detained.

Per sources, the ship was seized under a judicial order and taken to the shores of Bushhr.

The fuel is being offloaded and will be given to Bushehr Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company.

This is not the first time that Iran has seized vessels in the region by accusing them of smuggling fuel.

On November 29, Ali Salami-zadeh, the prosecutor of Kish Island, said that two vessels were seized in the Persian Gulf for smuggling 80,000 litres of fuel.

In March, two foreign tankers, called Star 1 and Winteg, were also confiscated in the Persian Gulf.

At that time, the IRGC said that the tankers had 25 crew and were carrying over 3 million litres of smuggled diesel fuel.

Iranian officials usually cite fuel smuggling as one of the major reasons for raising fuel prices in the country.

Masoud Pezeshkian, president of Iran, said in January 2025 that 20 to 30 million litres of gasoline are smuggled daily and called it a catastrophe as the supply chain from production to distribution is in their own hands.

However, such large-scale fuel smuggling is not possible without the involvement of the IRGC, as it controls and oversees all the imports and exports via unofficial ports and airports.

Source: Maritime Shipping News