A US Navy drone boat and US coast guard cutter John Scheuerman in the Strait of Hormuz
A US Navy drone boat and US coast guard cutter John Scheuerman in the Strait of Hormuz, where about a third of all seaborne oil cargoes pass through the channel each day © U.S. Coast Guard/AP

US authorities ordered a tanker of Iranian crude oil to redirect towards the US in recent days, in a move officials believe was the trigger for Iran’s decision to capture a US-bound tanker on Thursday.

Three people briefed on the situation said the US had intervened to summon a ship loaded with Iranian crude, originally destined for China, as Washington looks to step up enforcement of sanctions on Tehran. Iran’s navy unsuccessfully tried to pursue the tanker after it began its latest journey.

The people said the US Department of Justice seized the tanker, the Suez Rajan, under a court order with co-operation from at least one company involved with the vessel. The Suez Rajan has been the subject of scrutiny since it was accused last year of taking on board a cargo of Iranian oil, then intended for China, from another ship near Singapore. The DoJ declined to comment.

The previously unreported US action towards the Suez Rajan shines a new light on Iran’s decision to capture the Advantage Sweet, a US-bound tanker of Kuwaiti crude that was chartered by Chevron.

A US official said Thursday’s “seizure appears to be in retaliation for a prior US seizure of Iranian oil, which Iran recently attempted to get back but failed”.

Iran has a history of seizing tankers in retaliation for western countries targeting its crude oil shipments. In 2019, Iran seized two British-flagged tankers shortly after the UK impounded an Iranian vessel that had stopped at Gibraltar en route to Syria. Last year, Iran also took two Greek-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after Greece had allowed the US to drain the cargo of an Iranian tanker in Greek waters.

The US seizure will also raise questions about whether US-linked operators were given sufficient warning of the potential increased dangers of sailing ships such as the Advantage Sweet close to Iran.

The Suez Rajan’s alleged involvement in the trade in Iranian oil, which is sanctioned by the US, was revealed in February 2022 by United Against Nuclear Iran, a pressure group. The news led to a civil legal action in Manhattan by families of victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

In a broader case that remains ongoing, they sought to have the US seize the Iranian oil carried by the Suez Rajan in order to help pay compensation that a US court in 2018 had found they were owed by Iran for its role in the attacks. The request was later withdrawn. 

The US interest in the vessel arose because the ship is owned by Fleetscape, an affiliate of US-based Oaktree Capital. That contrasts with the so-called “ghost fleet” of vessels usually used to move Iranian oil. Those ships’ ownership is shrouded in secrecy, making it difficult to bring claims.

At the time of the 2022 claims, Fleetscape said all operational decisions were made by Empire Navigation, the vessel’s Greek operators. Fleetscape and Empire said they took the allegations “very seriously” and they were co-operating with US authorities to investigate the matter. Martin Graham, managing director at Oaktree Capital, argued that neither Fleetscape nor Oaktree had “any ownership interest whatsoever” in Suez Rajan’s cargo, according to a court filing.

Since those claims were raised, the Suez Rajan has kept a low profile, largely reporting positions in shelter near Singapore since last March. Kpler, a data analytics company, has no record of it being involved in any transactions since February 2022. The ship’s transmissions give a depth in the water that imply that it has not offloaded its oil since it was accused of taking on board the Iranian crude.

The Suez Rajan began its current voyage, up the Malacca Strait and then west across the Indian Ocean, on April 7. Its current location is unclear: according to Spire Global, a satellite data company, it last broadcast its position on the evening of April 22 as it was heading south-west past Madagascar towards the Cape of Good Hope.

The Advantage Sweet Suezmax tanker that Iran seized was operating under a short-term charter for Chevron, one of the largest US oil companies. Its crew, all Indian nationals, are now being held by Iran. It was taken in the Gulf of Oman east of the Hormuz strait, according to US Central Command. Vessels and crew seized by Iran in the past have eventually been released, but often not for several months.

Fleetscape and Empire have been approached for comment.

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