Iranian Forces Detain Product Tanker Talara Near Qeshm

The Talara, a Marshall Islands flagged product tanker seized by Iranian forces on Friday, has now been located.

The vessel is currently anchored in the Khuran Strait, north of Qeshm Island, an area known for previous detentions carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to TankerTrackers.com.

State media reported an IRGC statement claiming that “the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorized cargo.”

Columbia Shipmanagement, the vessel’s manager, confirmed that the Talara was transporting a load of high sulphur gasoil to Singapore when communication was lost at about 08:22 local time on Friday. The incident occurred roughly 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khorfakkan in the United Arab Emirates.

This is the first reported instance of an Iranian seizure of a commercial vessel in 2025. The most recent prior case took place in April 2024, when the IRGC captured the MSC Aries, a Portuguese flagged container ship, using a helicopter-led boarding operation in international waters.