This operation is part of the US campaign to crack down on Iranian oil exports and the “shadow fleet” used to circumvent international sanctions.
The United States seized the VLCC Skywave (302,500 deadweight tons, built in 2005), suspected of carrying Iranian crude oil. According to several sources, the ship had loaded its cargo in Kharg before being intercepted in the Indian Ocean after passing through the Strait of Malacca.
The tanker had already been targeted by US sanctions since March 2025 under its former name Blue Gulf, for activities related to the transport of Iranian crude oil. Several maritime databases showed it under Comoros or Botswana flags, a common scheme in parallel transport networks used to circumvent international sanctions.
This case marks a new stage in the American strategy targeting Iranian oil exports. According to available information, this would be the third vessel linked to Iranian oil seized by Washington since the beginning of the regional escalation in spring 2026. American operations now extend beyond the Arabian-Persian Gulf and the northern Arabian Sea to the major Asian maritime routes and the Indian Ocean.
Simultaneously with this seizure, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the US Treasury, announced this week a new series of sanctions targeting 12 individuals and entities accused of aiding the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in exporting oil to China.
The measures involve several companies based in Hong Kong, Dubai, Sharjah, and Oman, accused of organizing sales of Iranian crude oil and providing logistical services to sanctioned tankers. Washington claims that these networks rely on shell companies and accommodating jurisdictions to conceal the origin of the cargoes and the financial circuits used.
At the same time, US authorities have added 19 additional vessels to their blacklist, increasing pressure on the “shadow fleet,” composed mainly of old tankers operating under flags of convenience and frequently using identity changes, AIS deactivations, or ship-to-ship cargo transfers.
This offensive also indirectly targets China, the main destination for Iranian oil under sanctions. The OFAC has warned that it could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions and independent Chinese refineries involved in these operations.
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