Indonesia’s coast guard seized an Iranian-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil.
In particular, the vessel was the MT Arman 114 and was carrying 272,569 metric tons, or nearly two million barrels of light crude oil.
It was suspected of transferring the oil to another vessel without a permit, the coast guard said in a statement.
As explained, Iran has been shipping its oil by illicit methods since the US imposed full third-party oil sanctions in May 2019, one year after pulling out of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.
Exports picked up again at the end of 2020, as the newly elected US President Joe Biden signalled his readiness to negotiate with Iran to restore the JCPOA.
Since then, Iran’s illicit exports, mostly to China, have reached 1.5 million barrels per day, with critics accusing the Biden administration of lax sanctions enforcement.