Ghost vessels and shadow fleets are under a lot of pressure amid U.S. crackdown on Iran.
Only a few vessels have managed to slip the American radar, while several have been caught.
In on overnight operation on June 5, U.S. forces seized a Singapore-flagged supertanker Davina that was carrying up to two million barrels of crude oil.
This vessel is listed under the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice post on X, formerly Twitter, the supertanker is part of Iran’s Ghost Fleet, a network of illicit shipping facilitators that have enabled the Iranian regime to earn critical energy revenues, undermine stability in the region, and attack U.S. partners and allies.
Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports continues as Tehran holds a chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz – a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, has called out the United States for directing four oil tankers without coordination with Iranian authorities. It stated that the vessels attempted to illegally exit the Strait of Hormuz. “After the warning, one of the oil tankers was targeted and stopped, and the other offending vessels turned back.”
Also Read: U.S. – Iran War Heats Up in Strait of Hormuz: Missiles and Drones to Sanctions
