Indonesia seizes Iranian-flagged tanker suspected of illegal oil transshipment

Indonesia's coast Guard (Bakamla) said on Tuesday it had detained an Iranian-flagged tanker on suspicion of illegally transporting oil.

The ship (Arman 114) was carrying 272,569 tons of light crude oil, and it is suspected that it was transferring oil to another ship without a permit" Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) said.

The Coast Guard reported that it had seized the ship after it was seen transferring oil to the Cameroon-flagged ship (Stenos), but did not mention the date of the incident.

This is not the first time that Indonesia has detained an Iranian oil tanker, as it announced on January 25, 2021, that the Coast Guard had detained the MT Horse, which flies the Iranian flag, on suspicion of illegally transporting oil. In the waters of Indonesia, according to the agency "Reuters".

Indonesia also continued to hold the Iranian ship for about 4 months, until it was released in May of the same year.

At the time, Iran said that the tanker "MT Horse" was seized due to a "technical issue", and demanded that Indonesia explain the detention of the tanker.