US Forces Board Iran-Linked Tanker Tifani in Indian Ocean

U.S. forces carried out a boarding of the tanker Tifani while it was sailing through the Indian Ocean on April 21. The operation was completed without any reported issues.

The action was led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) as part of a “right-of-visit” maritime interdiction. This legal provision allows authorities to stop and inspect foreign vessels in international waters when there are suspicions of regulatory breaches. The boarding team was supported by a U.S. Navy Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base.

At the time of the operation, the vessel was on passage to Singapore, navigating waters between Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

The Tifani is a 299,999 DWT Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) built in 2003. U.S. authorities have classified the vessel as stateless. It was also placed on a U.S. blacklist in 2025 due to its alleged involvement in two ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil near Singapore.

The Pentagon described the boarding as part of its sanctions enforcement efforts, highlighting that such operations are now being conducted on a global scale. Iranian officials have not issued a response regarding the incident.