Tanker Seized by IRGC Was Carrying Iran-Owned Cargo: Report

A foreign tanker seized by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and diverted to Iranian waters on Friday was carrying a cargo of petrochemical products that belonged to Iran, a new report has shown.

The Saturday report by the Fars news agency quoted sources as saying that an Iranian entity was behind the illegal transportation of the petrochemical cargo by the Talara, the tanker that was intercepted in the Persian Gulf a day earlier.

The agency, which is close to the IRGC, said the seizure was not directed at any foreign country or party and was carried out solely to protect Iran’s national interests and recover the country’s lost property.

The report comes hours after the IRGC confirmed it had confiscated a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker outside of Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf because it “was in violation of carrying unauthorized cargo”.

The IRGC said in a statement that the seizure had been carried out under a court order, adding that the vessel and its cargo of 30,000 metric tons of petrochemical materials had been escorted to an anchorage for investigation into its violations. “The operation was carried out in line with legal duties and to protect the national interests and resources of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said the statement.

A report published on Saturday by Reuters said that Talara is owned by Cyprus-based Pasha Finance and managed by Columbia Shipmanagement. It said the ship had lost its communication on Friday morning while sailing around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates. The ship was carrying a cargo of high-sulfur diesel through the Indian Ocean en route to Singapore from Sharjah in the UAE when it was confiscated, the report said. - Press TV