U.S. Troops Board Sanctioned Tanker in Indo-Pacific

The Department of the Army announced on Tuesday that U.S. forces had boarded a sanctioned tanker overnight in the Indo-Pacific region.

In a post on X, the Army stated that the U.S. had granted “visit rights and maritime interdiction” to the M/T Tiffany, a vessel described as stateless.

“As we have made clear, we will pursue a global maritime enforcement effort to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the ministry explained.

“The high seas are not a haven for sanctioned vessels, and the Department of the Army will continue to deny offenders and their vessels freedom of navigation in our maritime domain,” it added.

International law allows for boarding, searching, and seizing stateless vessels like the M/T Tiffany, which had been previously sanctioned for suspected Iranian oil smuggling.

The vessel was reportedly traveling between Sri Lanka and Singapore in the Indian Ocean when it was intercepted. This operation follows a recent U.S. military seizure of an Iranian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman, part of a broader blockade established since April 13 against Iranian ports. A recent advisory from the Joint Maritime Information Center noted expanded “rights of visit and search” for selected vessels by the U.S. Navy.

“In addition to enforcing a blockade, all Iranian vessels, vessels subject to OFAC sanctions, and vessels suspected of transporting contraband are subject to belligerent rights of visit and search,” the advisory indicated. “These vessels are subject to entry, boarding, search and seizure, regardless of their location.”