The United States military has taken action against at least three tankers bearing the Iranian flag in Asian waters, redirecting them from their original locations near India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, according to shipping and security insiders on Wednesday.
In an effort to curb Iran’s maritime trade, Washington has implemented a blockade, while Iran has retaliated by targeting ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage at the Middle East Gulf’s entrance. Nearly two months into the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, there is little indication of peace negotiations resuming amidst a tenuous ceasefire.
The strait’s closure has significantly disrupted the global oil and gas supply, accounting for one-fifth of the world’s resources and triggering a worldwide energy crisis. Recently, U.S. forces have seized an Iranian cargo ship and an oil tanker. In response, Iran claimed to have apprehended two container ships attempting to exit the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, marking its first such actions since the conflict began.
In recent days, the U.S. has redirected at least three additional Iranian-flagged oil tankers. This information comes from two U.S. and Indian shipping sources, as well as two separate Western maritime security sources who communicated with Reuters on Wednesday.
The U.S. military has yet to provide a response to inquiries regarding these interceptions.
Among the diverted vessels is the Iranian-flagged Deep Sea supertanker, which was partially loaded with crude. It was last tracked via its public tracking transponder off the coast of Malaysia a week ago, according to sources and data from the MarineTraffic platform.
The smaller Iranian-flagged Sevin, which had a maximum capacity of 1 million barrels and was carrying 65% of its load, was also intercepted. The vessel was last seen off Malaysia’s coast a month ago, ship tracking data showed.
The Iranian-flagged supertanker Dorena was also intercepted, fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude, and last seen off the coast of southern India three days ago, according to the sources and ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.
The U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday in a post on X that the Dorena has been under the escort of a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after attempting to violate the blockade.
Follow The Post’s coverage on the latest in the war with Iran:
U.S. forces may have intercepted the Iranian-flagged Derya tanker, shipping sources said. The vessel failed to discharge its cargo of Iranian oil in India before a U.S. waiver on Iranian crude purchases expired on Sunday. That vessel was last seen off India’s western coast on Friday, according to MarineTraffic data.
U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday that since the start of its blockade against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports, U.S. forces had directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port.
The U.S. military has not listed all the ships it has intercepted and did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Deyra and the Deep Sea.
A third maritime security source said the US military was looking to target Iranian ships away from the Strait of Hormuz and in open waters to avoid any risk of floating mines during operations.
