Iranian authorities have captured two more tankers and issued strong legal penalties for the crews of two previously detained ships.
According to local media reports, two Tanzanian-flagged vessels, namely Sea Ranger and Salama, were stopped by Iranian forces near the central port city of Bushehr in the Persian Gulf.
The ships, carrying a total of 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel, were attempting to leave Iranian waters.
A total of 25 foreign crew members were taken into custody. The vessels were handed over to local authorities at Bushehr port for further legal action.
The semi-official Fars News Agency identified the vessels and said that the Iranian Navy was responsible for intercepting them.
The diesel fuel on board is valued at approximately $1.3 million.
Iranian authorities stated that the seized fuel would be transferred to the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company for redistribution within the country.
On the same day, a court in Hormozgan Province issued verdicts for crew members of two previously detained foreign-flagged tankers.
According to Mojtaba Ghahramani, head of the local judiciary in Hormozgan, 34 individuals were found guilty of smuggling fuel.
The first vessel was carrying more than 4.25 million litres of smuggled fuel when it was seized near Bu Musa Island.
The captain and two of his deputies were each sentenced to five years in prison, and collectively fined 4.3 trillion rials, which is about $5.37 million.
In the second case, another foreign tanker was found to be transporting 1.7 million litres of diesel illegally.
The captain and two deputies on that vessel also received five-year jail terms and were fined over 2.375 trillion rials, equivalent to $3 million.
Authorities confirmed that both tankers will remain in custody until the fines are paid.
Iranian officials pointed out that no tankers with the names Sea Ranger and Salama currently appear in maritime databases.
This follows a similar incident on March 31, when Iranian forces seized two other tankers, named Star 1 and Vintage, in the Persian Gulf.
Those vessels were found carrying a combined 3 million litres of diesel fuel.
Iran has been continuously working to combat fuel smuggling due to the low domestic prices of diesel and gasoline, which make smuggling to neighbouring Arab countries highly profitable.
Authorities have increased surveillance and vowed to take firm action against vessels involved in these activities.
Reference: yemenonline
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