US Seizure of Oil Vessel Triggered Iran Tanker Capture

April 28, 2023

Author: 

Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Felicia Schwartz, Stefania Palma, David Sheppard, and Chris Cook

Publication: 

Financial Times

Related Country: 

  • China

The U.S. Department of Justice seized the Suez Rajan, an oil tanker loaded with Iranian crude and destined for China, under a court order. The Suez Rajan is owned by Fleetscape, an affiliate of the U.S.-based firm Oaktree Capital. Oaktree Capital denied that it or Fleetscape had an ownership interest in the vessel's cargo. Days later, Iran detained the Advantage Sweet, an oil tanker bound for the United States, in the Gulf of Oman.