TEHRAN: According to reports in local media on Monday, Iranian naval forces have detained the crew of a foreign-registered ship they claim was smuggling fuel in the Gulf.
According to the Tasnim news agency, Mojtaba Ghahremani, the judiciary chief for Hormozgan province, “The navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has seized a foreign tanker carrying 11 million liters of smuggled fuel.”
When the ship was captured and under what flag it was sailing are unknown.
Iran has announced several operations in recent months that are intended to combat fuel smuggling in the Gulf, which is where a significant portion of the world’s oil is produced and transported.
Iran has some of the cheapest gasoline prices in the world, which can make smuggling to other nations a successful business.
Iran reported seizing a second foreign vessel in the same region in September that was carrying 757,000 liters of illegal fuel.
Source: AFP
