U.S. boards Iranian oil supertanker in Indian Ocean amid sanctions crackdown

(Bloomberg) – U.S. forces boarded a sanctioned supertanker carrying oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean, the latest enforcement action in a blockade of the Islamic Republic’s shipping. 

The overnight maneuver involved a tanker called the Majestic X, the Pentagon said in a statement on X. The ship is also known as the Phonix, a Very Large Crude Carrier able to transport 2 million barrels of oil.

The maneuver, days after multiple other supertanker interdictions, serves as a reminder that the US is willing to target Iran’s oil trade hundreds of miles from the the Persian Gulf state’s territorial waters. The military intercepted another crude carrier around the same area on Monday, east of Sri Lanka.

Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.

The Pentagon described the Majestic X as stateless and the shipping industry database Equasis describes it as sailing under a false flag.

While the US is ratcheting up pressure on Iran, Tehran itself has all but halted the Strait of Hormuz, preventing the passage of hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and fuel as well as other commercial traffic.

The net result is oil and gas prices that are far higher than when the war began and flows that show little sign of increasing any time soon, and cutbacks by producer countries.

Ships attacked

On Wednesday, Iran attacked at least three vessels in the waterway, diverting two of them into its waters.

The boarding of Majestic X follows interdictions against the VLCCs Hedy and Hero II. 

Both are anchored at Chabahar, an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, after being intercepted earlier this week, US Central Command said Wednesday on X. Analytics firm Vortexa previously said that the carriers had moved into the Arabian Sea, testing an American blockade that began early last week.

U.S. forces have directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran.

The enforcement actions mean a tiny amount of petroleum is now reaching global markets through Hormuz, the world’s most important oil channel. That’s because — up until the American blockade started — Iran had been the only nation sending meaningful amounts through it during the war. 

Shipping through the waterway remained at a fraction of peace-time levels early on Thursday, deepening an oil-supply loss that already stretches to hundreds of millions of barrels. 

The oil market already faces a guaranteed supply loss of around 1 billion barrels — in part because of the time it would take to revive flows once the strait reopens, Russell Hardy, the chief executive officer of top oil trader Vitol Group, said at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne this week.

Central Command said in its post on X that, in addition to Hedy and Hero II, another tanker — the Dorena — has been under the escort of a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after previously attempting to violate its cordon.

The US blockade is of Iranian maritime activity and includes enforcement in an area outside of the Persian Gulf. 

Tankertrackers.com, which has monitored Iranian oil flows for years by using satellite imagery, said on X on Wednesday that it has observed six tankers that have been interdicted by the US in some way.