News - Middle East: The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) says its naval forces have seized an Eswatini-flagged vessel carrying hundreds of thousands of liters of smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf. 

A local IRGC naval commander, Heydar Honarian Mojarrad, said the ship, carrying 350,000 liters of smuggled fuel, was intercepted during routine maritime monitoring operations on Sunday.

He said the vessel was brought to the coast of Bushehr following a judicial order, and its cargo will be unloaded.

According to Mojarrad, the vessel’s 13 crew members were from India and a neighboring country. The vessel and its crew have been placed under protection as an investigation into the smuggling is underway.

The commander said comprehensive surveillance in the region enabled IRGC naval units to identify and halt the vessel.

He reiterated that the IRGC remains committed to confronting smugglers and protecting Iran’s maritime borders to curb fuel trafficking in the waters.

In mid-November, the IRGC naval forces seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the southern coastal region of Balochistan after receiving a judicial order.

The vessel, named Talara, was heading through the Strait of Hormuz with “Iranian petrochemical products… illegally transported towards Singapore,” the IRGC said at the time.

The company managing the tanker confirmed later that Iran had released the tanker and its 21 crew members were all safe.

Iran, known for some of the world’s lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and sharp price disparities with neighboring countries, continues to battle widespread fuel smuggling by land and sea.

Press TV