The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged oil tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) disclosed on Wednesday that since the blockade against vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports began, U.S. forces have directed 29 ships to turn around or return to port.
The three tankers identified in the latest interceptions:
- Deep Sea, an Iranian-flagged supertanker partly loaded with crude, last seen off Malaysia’s coast a week ago
- Sevin, carrying 65% of its 1-million-barrel maximum capacity, last seen off Malaysia’s coast a month ago
- Dorena, fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude, last seen off southern India three days ago
CENTCOM posted on X that the Dorena is now under the escort of a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after attempting to violate the blockade. Shipping sources said U.S. forces may also have intercepted a fourth tanker, the Derya, which failed to discharge Iranian oil in India before a U.S. waiver expired on Sunday.
The interceptions come nearly two months after the U.S. and Israel began their war on Iran, with little sign of peace talks resuming during the uneasy ceasefire. Iran separately said it had captured two container ships attempting to exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday — its first seizures since the war began.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies. The Indian Ocean is now an active U.S. naval enforcement zone for Iran sanctions, a development with direct implications for Sri Lanka’s fuel import shipping routes and insurance costs.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy boarded and diverted the M/T Tifani in the same waters. Iran has also seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s FM Araghchi separately called Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday to discuss the IRIS Dena sinking.
The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the interceptions.
