Iran has seized a foreign tanker in the Sea of Oman on charges of fuel smuggling, the judiciary said Wednesday.
The vessel was intercepted "after legal documents related to its cargo were found to be incomplete," said Mojtaba Ghahremani, head of the judiciary in southern Hormozgan province, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online outlet.
He added that the ship was reportedly carrying "two million litres of smuggled fuel." "Seventeen suspects, including the captain and crew of the foreign tanker, have been taken into custody," Ghahremani said, without elaborating on the identity and nationality of those arrested.
Authorities are conducting laboratory tests and reviewing documents to verify the cargo's contents and legality, the report added.
The seizure comes months after Iran's Revolutionary Guards intercepted two Tanzanian-flagged tankers allegedly transporting 1.5 million litres of diesel in the Gulf. Those vessels were later transferred to the port of Bushehr for legal proceedings.
The vessels, the Sea Ranger and Salama, had 25 foreign crew members, according to Iranian media.
Fuel smuggling is a recurring challenge in Iran, where heavy subsidies have kept domestic fuel prices among the lowest in the world.
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