Tehran: Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker in the Gulf of Oman for smuggling 2 million liters (around 528,000 gallons) of fuel, the chief justice of southern Hormozgan province said. The vessel was intercepted “after legal documents related to its cargo were found to be incomplete,” said Mojtaba Ghahremani, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online outlet.

According to Deutsche Welle, fuel smuggling by land to neighboring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states is a persistent problem for authorities in Iran, where domestic fuel prices are among the lowest in the world due to heavy subsidies. “Seventeen suspects, including the captain and crew of the foreign tanker, have been taken into custody,” Ghahremani said, without providing the identity and nationality of those arrested, or the name of the tanker and the flag under which it is registered. He mentioned that a judicial case had been opened at the Jask county prosecutor’s office.

Ghahremani emphasized that the actions of fuel smugglers, who in coordination with foreigners, attempt to plunder national wealth will not remain hidden from the judiciary. He warned that punishment of perpetrators, if their crimes are proven, will be without leniency.

The Wednesday seizure is not an isolated incident. Iranian authorities have previously taken over tankers suspected of smuggling fuel. In April, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two Tanzanian-flagged tankers for alleged fuel smuggling, later transferring the vessels – the Sea Ranger and Salama – to the port of Bushehr for legal proceedings. The 1.5 million liters of diesel that the ships were alleged to be carrying were reportedly to be returned to the local fuel supply chain after being handed to the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company.

In November, Iran also seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, highlighting the ongoing challenges of fuel smuggling in the region.