US intercepts Iran oil tankers in Asian waters as demining of Hormuz expected to take months
Maritime security source says US Navy is working to target Iranian ships away from the Mideast waterway due to threat of mines, which Pentagon predicts could take 6 months to clear
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The US military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday.
Washington has imposed a blockade on Iran’s trade by sea while Iran has fired on ships to prevent them sailing through the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the entrance to the Middle East Gulf. Nearly two months after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to begin the war, there is little sign of peace talks resuming during an uneasy ceasefire.
The closure of the strait has disrupted supply of a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, and caused a global energy crisis. US forces have seized an Iranian cargo ship and an oil tanker in recent days. Iran said it had captured two container ships seeking to exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after firing on them and another vessel, its first seizures since the war began.
The US has diverted at least three more Iranian-flagged oil tankers in recent days, according to two US and Indian shipping sources and two separate Western maritime security source who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday.
The US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the interceptions.
One of the vessels was the Iranian-flagged Deep Sea supertanker, which was part loaded with crude and last seen on its public tracking transponder off Malaysia’s coast a week ago, according to the sources and ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.
The smaller Iranian-flagged Sevin, which had a maximum capacity of 1 million barrels and was carrying 65% of its load, was also intercepted. The vessel was last seen off Malaysia’s coast a month ago, ship tracking data showed.
The Iranian-flagged supertanker Dorena was also intercepted, fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude, and last seen off the coast of southern India three days ago, according to the sources and ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.
The US Central Command said on Wednesday in a post on X that the Dorena has been under the escort of a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after attempting to violate the blockade.
US forces may have intercepted the Iranian-flagged Derya tanker, shipping sources said. The vessel failed to discharge its cargo of Iranian oil in India before a US waiver on Iranian crude purchases expired on Sunday. That vessel was last seen off India’s western coast on Friday, according to MarineTraffic data.
US Central Command said on Wednesday that since the start of its blockade against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports, US forces had directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port.
The US military has not listed all the ships it has intercepted and did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Deyra and the Deep Sea.
A third maritime security source said the US military was looking to target Iranian ships away from the Strait of Hormuz and in open waters to avoid any risk of floating mines during operations. According to a person familiar with the situation, the Pentagon said during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that it will likely take six months to clear mines set in the strait.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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