The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and directed them away from positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, according to shipping and security sources. The operations are part of a U.S.-led maritime blockade on Iranian sea trade that has taken place alongside Iranian attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Nearly two months after the United States and Israel began their war on Iran, an uneasy ceasefire has not produced a resumption of peace talks, the sources said. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been linked to disruption of roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies and has been described in reporting as having caused a global energy crisis.
Sources reported that U.S. forces recently seized an Iranian cargo ship and an oil tanker. Iran, in turn, said it had captured two container ships attempting to leave the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz after firing on them and another vessel - the first such seizures since the war began.
In addition to those incidents, two U.S. and Indian shipping sources and two independent Western maritime security sources said the U.S. military had diverted at least three more Iranian-flagged oil tankers in recent days. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those interceptions.
Ship tracking data and the sources identified one of the diverted vessels as the Iranian-flagged Deep Sea supertanker. That vessel was part-loaded with crude and was last observed broadcasting its public tracking transponder off Malaysia's coast about a week ago, according to the sources and publicly available ship tracking information.
Another vessel cited by sources was the smaller Iranian-flagged Sevin, which has a maximum capacity listed as 1 million barrels and was understood to have been carrying about 65% of its cargo. Ship tracking data showed the Sevin was last seen off Malaysia's coast about a month ago.
The Iranian-flagged supertanker Dorena was also reported intercepted. Sources and ship tracking data indicated Dorena was fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude and was last tracked off the coast of southern India three days earlier.
U.S. Central Command posted on X that Dorena had been under the escort of a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after attempting to violate the blockade. That public post identified U.S. naval presence alongside the vessel following the attempted breach.
Shipping sources added that U.S. forces may have intercepted an Iranian-flagged tanker named Derya. That vessel had reportedly failed to discharge its cargo of Iranian oil in India before a U.S. waiver allowing purchases of Iranian crude expired on the preceding Sunday. MarineTraffic data showed that vessel was last seen off India's western coast on the previous Friday.
U.S. Central Command also said on Wednesday that since the start of its blockade against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports, U.S. forces had directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port. The U.S. military has not publicly listed every ship it has intercepted and did not immediately answer requests for comment concerning the Deyra and the Deep Sea.
One maritime security source said U.S. forces preferred to intercept and redirect Iranian ships away from the Strait of Hormuz and instead target them in open waters to reduce the risk of encountering floating mines during operations. That operational choice was cited as a factor shaping where U.S. naval assets have engaged or escorted the identified tankers.
This set of maritime interdictions, public and reported seizures, and movements of oil-laden supertankers has taken place against a backdrop in which shipping routes, cargo discharges and naval escorts are being closely tracked by both state actors and commercial observers. The reported actions underscore the scale of naval engagement tied to the blockade and to regional attempts to control the movement of energy cargoes.