India Says Iran has Not Permitted Contact with Crew of Seized Tanker
India’s Embassy and Consulate in Iran went public with their complaint that Iranian authorities have not permitted consular access to the crew of a small product tanker that was seized a month ago, accused of smuggling. The public statement posted on X came after the families of the 16 crewmembers made a personal appeal to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the Embassy, Iranian authorities notified them in mid-December that the tanker Valiant Roar (13,754 dwt) had been stopped on allegations of fuel smuggling. The ship was brought into port in Iran, with the Embassy saying it was advised there were 16 Indian nationals aboard, as well as one from Sri Lanka, and another from Bangladesh.
The vessel was one of several that the Iranian authorities seized in a crackdown on fuel smuggling. Iran reported stopping a tanker in the Gulf of Oman in mid-December, which it said was smuggling six million liters of diesel fuel. The situation was further complicated by Iran’s assertion that the vessel was operating without “valid maritime travel documents or a cargo manifest for its fuel shipment.”
Less than two weeks later, Iran stopped another tanker near the Strait of Hormuz. They said the vessel had four million gallons of oil, which was being shuttled to another tanker waiting outside the Gulf.
In the past, Iran has reported prosecutions of the officers of the seized vessels. In the spring of 2025, it announced long jail sentences and fines for the captain and senior officers of two vessels stopped for smuggling.
The Indian Embassy says it filed a request on December 14 for access to the crew. It says both it and the consulate in Bandar Abbas have made formal requests in writing and in person for access to the crew. The ambassador has also become involved in seeking access.
India wants to meet with the crew and is also asking the Iranian authorities to let the crew contact their families. The reports said Iran confiscated the crew’s phones and electronics. They are also asking the Iranian authorities to expeditiously complete any judicial proceedings.
The Indian authorities said they also intervened with the Iranian Navy earlier this month after they received reports that the crew was running out of basic supplies. They wanted the Iranian Navy to aid in facilitating emergency provisions.
The vessel is reportedly owned and managed by a company based in Dubai. The Embassy said it immediately established contact with the UAE-based company as well as its agents in Iran. They are pressing the company to ensure the supply of food, water, and fuel for the ship. They have also asked the company to arrange legal representation for the crew in the Iranian court.
Iranian Cargo Ship Sailing Near USS Abraham Lincoln in Straits of Malacca
Data shows that an Iranian cargo ship is sailing in proximity to the U.S. carrier group led by USS Abraham Lincoln as the group makes its way west to the Persian Gulf region. Facebook poster Charlie B published the plot of a group of ships heading west in the Straits of Malacca off Singapore, three of which are US Navy ships making up the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its carrier support group (CSG). The fourth vessel is the Iranian bulk carrier Arvin (IMO 9193202).
The Arvin is a bulk carrier that left Shanghai on January 5 and is scheduled to arrive in Bandar Abbas on February 4. It had been travelling with its AIS system active, at a steady speed on an expected course for this routing and without deviations for several days prior to the USS Abraham Lincoln being ordered to head for the Middle East region. It appears likely, therefore, that the USS Abraham Lincoln has joined this course, rather than being followed and tracked by the Arvin – although the Arvin may now be taking advantage of its position to report on the movements of the CSG. Both the CSG and the Arvin appear to be heading in the same direction, and will be visible to each other at least on radar and AIS systems.
A plot posted by @supbrow showing the Iranian cargo vessel Arvin sailing among the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group off Singapore (@supbrow)
The GT39424 Arvin is on the US Treasury OFAC sanctions list. It is subject to secondary sanctions on the basis that it is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). It was listed by OFAC on June 8, 2020.
For the last three years, the Arvin has exclusively plied the route between China and Iran. This pattern of activity does not suggest that the Arvin has been employed full-time in an intelligence collection role, for example, as were the IRISL-associated ships MV Saviz (IMO 9167253) and MV Behshad (IMO 9167289) stationed in the Red Sea. Or the Aframax tanker Beta (IMO 9486910), which lurked off Fujairah between 2015 and 2019, looking out for commercial shipping targets. The Beta was later converted into the Iranian Navy logistic and base ship IRINS Makran (K441), and recently was in Cape Town for “Exercise Will for Peace 2026.”
But any IRISL-associated ship, such as the Arvin, could be conscripted into performing intelligence duties should the IRGC so require, and probably as a matter of routine would report its sighting of any US naval vessels back to its ship managers in Iran, for onward coordination with the IRGC.
Top photo of IRISL bulk carrier Arvin by Cengiz Tokgöz (courtesy of VesselFinder)
No comments:
Post a Comment