US forces board sanctioned vessel without incident, Pentagon says

The U.S. forces boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean overnight without incident, the Pentagon announced Tuesday morning. 

The Pentagon said U.S. personnel performed a “right-of-visit, maritime” interdiction and boarded the “stateless sanctioned” M/T Tifani in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom) area of responsibility. 

“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran—anywhere they operate,” the Pentagon said in a social media post. “International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.” 

M/T Tifani, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. government, is linked to ENSA Ship Management, which was slapped with sanctions by the State Department last year. 

The State Department in July last year said ENSA’s designation came for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran.” 

Tifani was carrying crude oil in the Indian Ocean as of Tuesday and was sailing under the flag of Botswana, according to MarineTraffic. 

The boarding of the tanker comes as the U.S. continues its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and interdicts ships linked to Iran inside and outside the U.S. Central Command region. 

The interdiction came just ahead of the expiration of the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, as President Trump says the two sides are set to negotiate in Pakistan this week.

On Sunday, the U.S. Navy attacked an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to bypass the U.S. blockade after the crew did not comply with the warnings issued by U.S. forces. 

“The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain,” the Pentagon said. 

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