Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have confirmed the seizure of a tanker in the Gulf waters bound for Singapore due to alleged violations, Iranian state media reported on Saturday. The vessel, named Talara and flying the Marshall Islands flag, was carrying a cargo of petrochemicals. The tanker was intercepted by Iranian forces and redirected into Iranian territorial waters, according to a U.S. official and maritime security sources.
This incident marks the first tanker seizure by Tehran following Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June. Iranian state television broadcast a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stating that the tanker was carrying unauthorized cargo, without providing specific details on the violations.
The Talara had been traveling from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to Singapore, carrying high-sulfur gas oil through the Indian Ocean. The vessel’s management company, Columbia Shipmanagement, lost contact with the tanker on Friday morning off the coast of Khor Fakkan, U.A.E., and is collaborating with relevant parties to reestablish communication.
Owned by Pasha Finance based in Cyprus, the vessel’s situation is being closely monitored by the U.S. military, which confirmed awareness of the incident. The IRGC has a history of seizing commercial vessels in the Gulf, often citing maritime violations such as smuggling or technical infractions. Despite a relative reduction in military activities since the Israeli-U.S. strikes in June, Iran’s last reported vessel seizure prior to this incident was in April 2024.
