Iranian captain detained as Iraq seizes fuel smuggling ship

Iraqi naval forces seized an unidentified vessel in the Persian Gulf suspected of fuel smuggling, detaining the Iranian captain and ten Indian and Iraqi crew, the navy said Tuesday.

The vessel, intercepted in Iraqi territorial waters, was towed to Umm Qasr naval base for investigation and the crew was handed over to local police. Its name was not visible in a picture released by the navy.

Fuel smuggling is common in the Persian Gulf, where heavily subsidized fuel is sold on the black market to buyers across the region, but Iraqi seizures are relatively rare.

In December, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that 20 to 30 million liters of fuel are smuggled out of the country daily, calling it a catastrophe amid the country's energy crisis.

Pezeshkian did not specify the destinations but fuel smuggling in Iran often involves routes to neighboring countries where fuel prices are significantly higher.

In December, Reuters reported that a sophisticated oil smuggling network generating at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani took office in 2022.

Earlier this month Iranian authorities discovered and sealed four illegal taps on a major oil pipeline near the southern city of Bandar Abbas.

Last month, Iran said it dismantled 130 fuel smuggling depots and arrested 41 key suspects in Tehran province.