The crew of the oil products tanker Talara is safe and the vessel is currently anchored off the coast of Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, the ship’s technical manager, Columbia Shipmanagement, confirmed Monday, according to Reuters.
The announcement comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker last week in open Gulf waters, citing alleged cargo violations. Iranian state media confirmed the seizure on Saturday.
This marks the first such incident since Israeli-American strikes targeted Iranian assets in June, raising renewed concerns over the safety of maritime traffic in the Gulf, a critical corridor for global energy shipments.
According to Columbia Shipmanagement, contact with the Talara was lost on November 14 as it sailed through international waters from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, en route to Singapore with a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil. The vessel’s captain reestablished communication with the company at 17:30 GMT on November 16.
“All crew members are reported to be safe and accounted for. The vessel is now safely anchored off the coast of Bandar Abbas,” the company stated, noting that the crew consists of 21 seafarers.
A US official and maritime security sources confirmed Friday that Iranian forces had intercepted the tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters.
The IRGC has a history of seizing commercial vessels in the Gulf, often citing alleged smuggling, technical violations, or legal disputes.
Iran has previously used threats to disrupt maritime transit and halt cooperation on drug interdiction as leverage in nuclear disputes with the West.
The Islamic Republic has threatened more than once to close the Strait of Hormuz in recent years.
The United States has warned Iran in response that any attempt to close the strait would be viewed as a "red line" -- grounds for US military action.