THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

Iranian oil tankers, cargo vessels sail through as US naval blockade ... Share Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Share via Email Print US had illegally imposed naval blockade amid the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The vessels sailed through evening of Monday June 15, 2026, marking the first operational victory of the newly finalized memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States. At least three Iranian oil tankers and two cargo ships carrying essential goods have successfully broken through the US naval blockade, Press TV has learned from highly informed sources. Related Articles Why INEC cannot deregister ADC under Nigerian Law, Legal Advocates argue 12 minutes ago Tuesday June 16 is First Day of Muharram 1448AH, Sultan of Sokoto declares 2 hours ago The vessels sailed through evening of Monday June 15, 2026, marking the first operational victory of the newly finalized memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States. The vessels, which had been stranded for months amid the illegal American blockade aval campaign against Iranian shipping, sailed through international waters unimpeded, according to informed maritime sources speaking ex…

U.S. seeks to assert its control over Venezuelan oil with tanker ... A government supporter holds an image of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a women’s march to demand his return in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday, three days after U.S. forces captured him and his wife. (Matias Delacroix / Associated Press) By Konstantin Toropin, Josh Boak, Jill Lawless and Michael Biesecker Jan. 7, 2026 Updated 12:43 PM PT 3 8 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . U.S. military forces seized a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic after weeks of pursuit for sanctions violations. The ship evaded U.S. Coast Guard boarding in the Caribbean, renamed itself Marinera, and flew under a Russian flag. The vessel was sanctioned for allegedly smuggling cargo for a Hezbollah-linked company backed by Iran under 2024 U.S. sanctions. WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration on Wednesday sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tan…

EXCLUSIVE-The U.S. is using an Iranian smuggling tactic to sneak oil ... Prefer us on Google Learn More Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save DUBAI — The U.S. military has overseen scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing, using aerial and water drones as well as helicopters in an operation to guide convoys to awaiting tankers. The operation on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz employs a shuttling technique long used by Iran to skirt sanctions. Two specific locations where the oil transfers take place were identified by 11 people familiar with the operation – one off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and the other off Oman’s port of Sohar. It started in early May, and at least 92 ships have been involved in the transfers, according to shipping data and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters. As recently as June 11,17 pairs of ships could be seen carrying out simultaneous oil transfers at the two sites, according to satellite images reviewed by Reuters. People are also reading… Where this Knicks NBA title stands in New York pro sports history Her son was born at 2.5 pounds. Now he’s a Super Bowl cham…

India-bound oil tanker reaches Mumbai safely after going dark through ... Deftechtimes India India-bound oil tanker reaches Mumbai safely after going dark through conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz By Ruta R Deshpande March 13, 2026 415 Share X WhatsApp Linkedin ReddIt More from Author White House eyes Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf as potential key to future talks March 24, 2026 Israel intensifies Beirut airstrikes and captures Hezbollah Radwan fighters in south March 24, 2026 The “15 points” mystery: Trump claims productive talks with Iran despite Tehran’s denial March 24, 2026 Ruta R Deshpande Ruta Deshpande is a seasoned Defense Technology Analyst with a strong focus on cutting-edge military innovations and strategic defense systems. With a deep-rooted interest in geopolitics and international relations, she brings nuanced insights into the intersection of technology, diplomacy, and global security. Ruta has reported extensively on defense modernization, space militarization, and evolving Indo-Pacific dynamics. As a journalist, she has contributed sharp, well-researched pieces to Deftechtimes, a reputed defense and strategy publication. Her analytical writing reflects a str…

US Military Boards Sanctioned Oil Tanker in the Indian Ocean After ... Like Follow Followed Add us on Ben Finley and Michael Biesecker Published Feb 9, 2026, 3:34 PM EST Sign in to your Military.com account FILE - The Pentagon, the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense, is seen from the air, Sept. 20, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, FIle) Originally published by Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military forces boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the ship from the Caribbean Sea, the Pentagon said Monday. The Pentagon's statement on social media did not say whether the ship was connected to Venezuela, which faces U.S. sanctions on its oil and relies on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains . However, the Aquila II was one of at least 16 tankers that departed the Venezuelan coast last month after U.S. forces captured then-President Nicolás Maduro , said Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship's movements. According to data transmitted from the ship on Monday, it is not curre…

Iranian tankers loaded with oil sail past US Navy blockade — but Tehran still hasn’t opened Strait of Hormuz Three Iranian oil tankers have sailed past the US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for the first time in two months, analysts said.

Iran sends tankers loaded with oil past US military blockade Three Iranian tankers loaded with crude oil have passed the US blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data shows.

US military says it facilitated 380m barrels of oil transiting Hormiz <article data-history-node-id="443911" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-military-says-it-facilitated-380m-barrels-oil-transiting-hormiz" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-military-says-it-facilitated-380m-barrels-oil-transiting-hormiz" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">US military says it facilitated 380m barrels of oil transiting Hormiz</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p style="line-height:1.38">The US Central Command (Centcom) said “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz”, denying Iran's “claim” that passage through the waterway is “only permitted through routes designated by Iran” in a post to X on Thursday.</p> <p>“Since early May, US forces have helped facilitate the successful transit of more than 800 commercial vessels and 380 million barrels of crude oil through the international trade corridor,” Centcom added.</p> <p>This comes after reports from&nbsp;Lloyd’s List Intelli…

The story beyond US strikes on ships in West Asia: Sanctions, shadow ... The US last week struck three commercial tankers in the waters off Oman, killing three Indian sailors and triggering operations to rescue dozens from the burning and sinking vessels. The action, the US said, was to enforce its naval blockade for vessels coming from or going to Iran. The strikes drew a formal protest from New Delhi, but the US asserted that the three ships had violated its blockade imposed since mid-April. The ships’ crews, and in at least one case, the management company, denied the charges. But the episode brought a separate question into focus: the flags on the masts of those vessels. Two flew the flag of Palau, a small island nation in the western Pacific Ocean, and the third flew the flag of Guinea-Bissau, a small state on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Neither is known for a major commercial shipping industry. While it is unclear if thethree shipswere involved in any illicit activity, maritime transit observers and analysts say vessel owners often register under flags of smaller nations to evade regulatory scrutiny, and reap the benefits of low costs and little oversight. These,…

Ghost fleets: Meet the guy tracking illicit oil tankers from his Singapore rooftop | CNN Asia Russia War in Ukraine See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Follow Some people watch Netflix in their spare time. Remy Osman tracks rusty tankers transporting illicit oil through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. From the roof of his Singapore apartment building, the British expat, who works as a food and beverage salesman, documents the passage of these shadow vessels, often sanctioned by the US and other Western countries, for his growing online audience. Shadow fleets, also known as ghost or dark fleets, are ships that use murky tactics to transport oil for pariah states like Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Oil revenues from these fleets, consisting of aging tankers with opaque ownership, have become crucial sources of funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The US has cracked down on shadow fleets in recent months, seizing five sanctioned vessels as part of President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuela and its now-ousted leader Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by US forces earlier this month . This photo posted by US European Command on Wednesd…

Exclusive-The U.S. is using an Iranian smuggling tactic to sneak oil ... Published byGlobal Banking & Finance Review Posted on June 16, 2026 · Last updated: June 16, 2026 By Feras Dalatey , Jonathan Saul, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Edward Carron DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - The United States military has overseen scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing, using aerial and water drones as well as helicopters in an operation to guide convoys to awaiting tankers. The operation on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz employs a shuttling technique long used by Iran to skirt sanctions. Two specific locations where the oil transfers take place were identified by 11 people familiar with the operation – one off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and the other off Oman’s port of Sohar. It started in early May, and at least 92 ships have been involved in the transfers, according to shipping data and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters. As recently as June 11,17 pairs of ships could be seen carrying out simultaneous oil transfers at the two sites, according to satellite images reviewed by Reuters. An Apache helicopter downed by Iran on Ju…

The lawless floating gas station where the Iranian shadow fleet trades oil The Middle East Oil & gas Asia China See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Follow In the year leading up to its dramatic seizure by US forces in the Indian Ocean, the oil tanker known as the MT Tifani made several trips between Iran and a stretch of water off the coast of Malaysia, around 60 miles from the glitzy skyscrapers of Singapore. During these trips, it often loitered in a small area before dropping anchor and switching off its mandatory automatic identification system (AIS), according to MarineTraffic data reviewed by CNN. A while later — sometimes hours, sometimes days — the ship would reappear on AIS. The seizure of the MT Tifani on Tuesday — and the 1.9 million barrels of Iranian oil US authorities say it was carrying — has pushed the war with Iran into the waters of the Indo-Pacific, thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf. It’s also put a spotlight on this patch of water off Malaysia, roughly half the size of Rhode Island, which expert and CNN analysis shows acts as a floating gas station for Iran, used by its shadow fleet to trade and store oil, funneling desperately …

What happens to the oil tankers the US keeps seizing? HOUSTON — For more than a month, the Motor Tanker Skipper has bobbed about 50 miles off the coast of Galveston. It was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard on Dec. 10 off the coast of Venezuela, accused by the United States of being part of an oil shipping network that supported groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Skipper is now at least the seventh oil tanker seized for violating a partial U.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan oil exports and being part of a so-called shadow fleet of vessels that work to transport sanctioned oil. On Wednesday, the Coast Guard seized the Motor Vessel Sagitta — a vessel that was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022, according to the Associated Press. Advertisement But as the number of U.S.-seized oil tankers grows, legal questions are also mounting about the fate of the ships and their oil . “The legal position in relation to many aspects of this is very far from clear, both in terms of national law, which will be relevant now that the ships and the oil are in U.S. territorial waters, but also international law in relation to the original seizure of the vessels,” said…

US military boards sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after ... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Whittle) The Pentagon, the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense, is seen from the air, Sept. 20, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, FIle) Flames rise from flare stacks at the Amuay refinery in Los Taques, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the ship from the Caribbean Sea as part of anoil quarantine meant to squeeze Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday. Venezuela had faced U.S. sanctions on its oil and relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers tosmuggle crude into global supply chains. Following the U.S. raid to apprehendthen-President Nicolás Maduroin early January, several tankers fled the Venezuelan coast, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overnight. Hegseth vowed to eventually capture all those ships, telling a group of shipyard workers in Maine on Monday that “the only guidance I gave t…

U.S. Forces Board Sanctioned Tanker Bertha in Indian Ocean and Capture ... Share CARIBBEAN TO INDIAN OCEAN - U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the sanctioned crude oil tanker Bertha without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. ​ The vessel operated in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine on sanctioned vessels linked to Venezuelan oil exports and attempted to evade after departing Caribbean waters. This boarding continues the campaign against shadow fleet vessels transporting illicit Venezuelan and Iranian oil. Vessel Profile ​ The Bertha (IMO 9292163) is a large crude oil tanker managed by Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company Limited. It was previously flagged to the Cook Islands, with registration canceled on November 25, 2024. The vessel continued transmitting Cook Islands identifiers and has been subject to U.S. sanctions since December 3, 2024, for its role in transporting illicit Iranian petroleum. It was one of 16 tankers that attempted to break through a U.S. naval blockade on January 3, and was the last remaining oil-laden vessel from that group. Assessment: The vessel’s sanctions…

Iran sends tankers loaded with oil past US military blockade Three Iranian tankers loaded with crude oil have passed the US blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data shows.

The Cost of Sanctions: Dark Shipping Fleet Fuels Human Trafficking Translate page with Google Story August 14, 2025 The Cost of Sanctions: Dark Shipping Fleet Fuels Human Trafficking Country: Iran United arab emirates United states Author: Katie McQue ORN Fellow Share this page on Facebook Share this page on Twitter Email this page Print this page English Project Dark Ships, Trafficked Seafarers: Uncovering a Global Network of Illicit Smuggling at Sea This investigation looks into cross-border smuggling networks at sea. Katie McQue ORN Fellow READ MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT - Dark Ships, Trafficked Seafarers: Uncovering a Global Network of Illicit Smuggling at Sea SECTIONS Article Image courtesy of Karif Wat/Thomson Reuters Foundation. What’s the context? A clandestine network smuggling sanctioned oil around the globe has lured thousands of seafarers into dangerous jobs. NEW YORK - When the crew on board a small fishing vessel off of Dubai saw a coast guard speedboat racing through the darkness, they prepared for the worst, hoisting an iron shield on the bridge in an improvised attempt to guard against potential gunfire. Their vessel, the Meigou-4, sailed from Iran to United Arab Emi…

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers sail through Hormuz after Iran deal signed, data shows Three Saudi-flagged supertankers with six million barrels of crude onboard sailed through the Strait of Hormuz hours after US President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran over an end to the conflict, ship tracking data showed on Thursday.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The sailings from Saudi ports were the biggest departures through the strait in weeks, according to Reuters analysis of shipping movements.Saudi Arabia has mainly used its Red Sea port terminal of Yanbu to ship out oil due to the conflict which started on Feb. 28 and which has disrupted hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from leaving from Gulf producer ports through Hormuz.Read more: Key points from the US-Iran memorandum

US forces board sanctioned tanker in Indian Ocean, Pentagon says U.S. forces conducted an interdiction of the sanctioned stateless oil tanker Davina overnight in the Indian Ocean, the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command said on Friday. Washington has imposed a blockade on Iran’s sea trade while Tehran has fired on ships to prevent them sailing through the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the entrance to the Middle ​East Gulf. U.S. forces have intercepted multiple commercial and oil tankers in the Indian Ocean in recent months. “We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Indo-Pacific Command wrote in an X post. The Davina, a supertanker capable of carrying up to two million barrels of crude oil, was placed under U.S. sanctions in October 2024 for Iranian oil trading, according to ship tracking data. The vessel, also known as the Lenore, was last seen on June 5 off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Friday. The vessel’s draft indicated that it was almost fully laden with an oil cargo, separate shipping data showed. Share…

U.S. Counts Far More Hormuz Ship Transits Than Commercial Tracking ... U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, April 11, as two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations. U.S. Central Command Photo By Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg) — American forces have counted nearly 1,000 commercial vessel transits in and out of theStrait of Hormuzin the last two months, according to an official familiar with US Central Command operations, a figure that’s higher than private sector estimates that rely mostly on ship transponders. Military analysts measured the number of ship passages since a ceasefire took effect between the US and Iran on April 8 using continual air, sea and space surveillance deployed as part of the war against Iran, the official said, asking not to be identified to discuss data that hasn’t been made public. The bulk of the vessels are large cargo and container ships and the figure doesn’t count smaller craft, such as traditional dhows, they added. The figure is still far below the more than 100 ships passing daily through the vital waterway for oil and gas from the Persian Gulf before President D…

U.S. seizes a seventh Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in Caribbean ... The United States on Tuesday morning seized another oil tanker linked to Venezuela, U.S. Southern Command said, its seventh such seizure. U.S. forces "apprehended Motor Vessel Sagitta without incident," U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America, said in a social media post. It said the tanker was "operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean" and that the action "demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully." The social media post included unclassified aerial video of the Sagitta. The details of the operation and the next steps involving the ship were not immediately provided. Unclassified video from U.S. Southern Command shows the Motor Vessel Sagitta, a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker that was seized by U.S. forces. Jan. 20, 2026. U.S. Southern Command According to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Sagitta is a Panamanian-flagged vessel and is owned by Sunne Co Limited, which also owns several other U.S.-sancti…

Pentagon: US forces board sanctioned oil tanker | AP News U.S. forces have boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, the Department of Defense said. The Pentagon said they “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.” The Pentagon is seen from an airplane, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Thursday, April 16, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf) WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces have boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, the Pentagon said Tuesday, as it puts into placea global warning to track down vesselstied to Tehran. U.S. forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” of the M/T Tifani “without incident,” the Pentagon said on social media. The tanker was captured in the Bay of Bengal — between India and Southeast Asia — and it was carrying Iranian oil, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military oper…

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers sail through Hormuz after Iran deal signed, data shows Three Saudi-flagged supertankers with six million barrels of crude onboard sailed through the Strait of Hormuz hours after US President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran over an end to the conflict, ship tracking data showed on Thursday.

Exclusive: Iranian oil tankers, cargo vessels sail through as US naval blockade officially lifted At least three Iranian oil tankers and two cargo ships carrying essential goods have successfully broken through the US naval blockade, Press TV has learned from highly informed sources.