Foreign Vessel Carrying Smuggled Fuel Seized in the Sea of Oman
WANA (Dec 13) – The Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province announced the seizure of a foreign oil tanker on charges of carrying six million liters of smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman.
The Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province, Mojtaba Ghahremani, stated that as part of ongoing intelligence monitoring and surveillance of movements suspected of fuel smuggling along the country’s maritime borders in the Sea of Oman, law enforcement officers—after obtaining judicial authorization—inspected a foreign oil tanker in waters under Iran’s sovereignty in the western Jask area.
Due to multiple maritime violations and deficiencies in the vessel’s legal documentation related to its cargo, the tanker was seized on charges of transporting six million liters of smuggled fuel.
Ghahremani noted that the tanker’s cargo is approximately equivalent to the capacity of 200 traditional lenj boats and 2,000 Nissan pickup trucks. Following reports by enforcement authorities, a case has been opened at the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Jask County, and judicial proceedings into the alleged offenses are ongoing.
He added that 18 suspects, including the captain and crew of the foreign oil tanker, are currently under supervision after appropriate legal orders were issued to complete the investigation and legal process.
The Chief Justice stated that, besides organized fuel smuggling, the seized tanker violated multiple laws, including ignoring stop orders, fleeing, lacking documents, turning off radar, and damaging equipment. Judicial outcomes will be announced later.
Emphasizing that there are no red lines in confronting fuel smuggling and the corruption stemming from it, Ghahremani said the actions taken have caused the ringleaders of smuggling networks to feel seriously threatened, and the financial resources of their external branches have been dealt significant blows.
He added that in line with directives issued by the Head of the Judiciary last year, methods for preventing and combating fuel smuggling have been revised and entered new phases.
Measures targeting ringleaders, distribution hubs, major smugglers, and all nodes of fuel-smuggling networks have yielded tangible results, as reflected in reduced consumption figures and changes in mafia-style behavior, demonstrating the effectiveness of these efforts.
Ghahremani concluded by saying that while these actions have prompted outcry from certain individuals whose major interests have been jeopardized, no attention will be paid to such reactions.
Foreign Vessel Carrying Smuggled Fuel Seized in the Sea of Oman on December 13, 2025. Social media/ WANA News Agency
