At least two more empty tankers linked to Iran sailed into the Persian Gulf, hours before the US warned it will consider boarding and seizing any sanctioned vessels regardless of location, as it continues its blockade of the Islamic Republic. Observable traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely constrained, but some transits are still continuing in both directions. In addition to the inbound vessels, two smaller, non-sanctioned tankers traveled east out of the Gulf, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
At least two more empty tankers linked to Iran sailed into the Persian Gulf, hours before the US warned it will consider boarding and seizing any sanctioned vessels regardless of location, as it continues its blockade of the Islamic Republic. Observable traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely constrained, but some transits are still continuing in both directions. In addition to the inbound vessels, two smaller, non-sanctioned tankers traveled east out of the Gulf, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. US Naval Forces Central Command announced on Thursday that “in addition to enforcing the blockade, all Iranian vessels, vessels with active OFAC sanctions, and vessels suspected of carrying contraband, are subject to belligerent right to visit and search.” It added that, regardless of location, the vessels “are subject to visit, board, search, and seizure,” according to an update distributed by the Joint Maritime Information Center, which liaises between the military and commercial shipping. That suggests there is potential for seizures beyond the Middle East. With Weilun S., Alex Longley, Prejula Prem https://lnkd.in/d8Jgmfx3
