TEHRAN – A commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says an Eswatini (Swaziland)-flagged vessel carrying 350 Liters of contraband fuel has been seized in the Persian Gulf waters.

“In line with protecting and safeguarding the sea borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially in the Persian Gulf, ... a Swaziland-flagged ship carrying smuggled fuel (gas oil) was seized,” said General Heydar Mojarad, and IRGC naval commander.

He said the vessel was transferred to the shore after the required judicial permission was issued, adding its haul containing 350 thousand Liters of smuggled fuel is being unloaded and delivered to a local oil and gas company in southern Iran. He noted some 13 crewmembers, one of them from a neighboring country and some from India, were on the vessel when it was intercepted.

In mid-November, the IRGC’s naval forces seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the southern coastal region of Sistan and Balochestan after receiving a judicial order.

The vessel, named Talara, was heading through the Strait of Hormuz with “Iranian petrochemical products… illegally transported towards Singapore,” the IRGC said at the time. The company managing the tanker confirmed later that Iran had released the tanker and its 21 crew members were all safe.

Iran, known for some of the world’s lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and sharp price disparities with neighboring countries, continues to battle widespread fuel smuggling by land and sea.