Iran-Linked Oil Tankers Seized by US Navy Now Headed to U.S. Coast

Three sanctioned tankers carrying nearly six million barrels of Iranian crude—valued at roughly $600 million—are crossing the Atlantic toward the United States, according to vessel-tracking data from TankerTrackers and Kpler. The ships, Majestic X, Tifani, and Lenore, were seized months ago in the Indian Ocean as part of a broader U.S. campaign against Iran’s sanctions-evading oil trade. Two are currently off Brazil’s northern coast; the third rounded Cape Horn this week. None publicly advertised a U.S. destination on AIS for most of the voyage, though Majestic X briefly listed the United States in late July and early August.

The cargoes are Iranian-origin crude loaded at Kharg Island or Jask. After forfeiture proceedings, the oil is far more likely to be sold into the market than deposited in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The vessels themselves belong to the so-called dark fleet, not to Iran’s official tanker company. Whether they can ever enter Jones Act coastwise service is legally possible under a narrow forfeiture exception, but practically difficult.

The Seizures

U.S. forces boarded Tifani (IMO 9273337) on April 21, 2026, in the Bay of Bengal / Indian Ocean and Majestic X (IMO 9198317, also known as Phonix or Phoenix) two days later. Homeland Security Investigations later executed federal warrants on both ships. Lenore (IMO 9259367, also known as Davina) was seized in early June southwest of Sri Lanka after weeks of loitering with AIS off. Combined cargo is reported at about 1.9 million barrels on each of the two April ships plus another 1.9 million on Lenore.

The Pentagon described the operations as “right-of-visit” interdictions of stateless, sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran. The ships had loaded in Iran and were bound, according to their earlier AIS broadcasts, for China or Singapore—classic dark-fleet routing that often includes ship-to-ship transfers off Malaysia.

Dark Fleet, Not Iranian-Flagged or Iranian-Owned

These are not National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) ships flying the Iranian flag. They are classic shadow-fleet / ghost-fleet / dark-fleet vessels: older VLCCs that change names, spoof or disable AIS, fly flags of convenience or false flags, and are owned or managed through layers of companies in India and elsewhere.

• Majestic X / Phonix: Built 2001, ~281,500 dwt. Sanctioned by OFAC in December 2024. Owned by Faith Enterprise Ltd. and managed by India-based Vision Ship Management LLP. It has flown a false Guyanese flag without authorization and was treated as stateless by the U.S. TankerTrackers credits it with moving about 20 million barrels of Iranian oil since 2023.
• Tifani: Built 2003. Previously named Anahi, Amfitriti, and Bunga Kasturi. Has used flags including Botswana, Palau, Panama, Cameroon, and Tanzania. Pentagon and Equasis listed it as stateless at seizure. Linked to ENSA Ship Management. Sanctioned in 2025 for STS transfers of Iranian oil. TankerTrackers says it has moved tens of millions of barrels of Iranian crude since a 2020 ownership change.
• Lenore / Davina: Sanctioned October 2024. Operated without a recognized flag after false registrations in Curaçao and Palau. Also credited with ~20 million barrels of Iranian oil since 2024.

This pattern matches the broader “ghost fleet” that has grown to hundreds of aging tankers moving Iranian, Russian, and Venezuelan barrels to China and other buyers. Ownership is opaque by design. Iran itself does not appear on the title; the ships generate revenue for the regime and entities such as the IRGC by transporting the oil.

What Happens to the Oil?

Historical practice is sale, not SPR storage.

In 2020, the United States seized the cargoes (about 1.1 million barrels of Iranian petroleum products) from four tankers bound for Venezuela—Bella, Bering, Pandi, and Luna. The ships themselves were not taken because the Greek owner cooperated; the cargo was transferred and brought to Houston. After forfeiture, it was sold. Net proceeds of a related 2021 case exceeded $26 million and were eligible for the U.S. Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund.

In 2023, the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-managed Suez Rajan was brought to U.S. waters off Texas under a deferred-prosecution agreement. Its ~800,000 barrels of Iranian-grade crude were confiscated and sold after a lengthy search for a buyer willing to risk Iranian retaliation. Iran later seized the same ship in the Gulf of Oman and renamed it St Nikolas.

More recent civil-forfeiture complaints against vessels such as Skipper follow the same model: the oil is treated as property that afforded a source of influence over the IRGC or NIOC and is therefore forfeitable. Once a court orders forfeiture, the government typically sells the cargo. A 2025 action sought $47 million in proceeds from Iranian oil that had been stored in Croatia under false Malaysian origin documents and later sold.

The SPR is a different instrument. It holds U.S. emergency stocks in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana. Recent large releases during the Iran conflict have been structured as exchanges that companies must repay with extra barrels, not as a dumping ground for confiscated foreign crude. Adding seized Iranian barrels would also raise quality, logistics, and political complications. Prize-law discussions now underway would, if implemented, send sale proceeds to the Treasury more quickly than traditional civil forfeiture.

Expect the six million barrels to be lightered or discharged at a U.S. Gulf port such as Galveston or Houston, then sold under court supervision.

Can the Tankers Join the U.S. Merchant Fleet Under the Jones Act?

The Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 55102) reserves transportation of merchandise between U.S. points to vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-crewed. These three ships were built in Asia more than two decades ago, so they fail the build requirement.

There is a statutory exception. A coastwise endorsement may be issued to a vessel that was not built in the United States if it “was captured in war by U.S. citizens and lawfully condemned as prize, was forfeited for a breach of U.S. laws, or qualifies as a wrecked vessel.” Civil forfeiture for sanctions violations, or a revived prize-court condemnation, could therefore open a legal path.

That path is narrow. The ships would still need U.S. citizen ownership (generally 75 percent), U.S. documentation, and U.S. crews. They are old VLCCs whose condition after years of dark-fleet service is unknown. Classification, insurance, and environmental compliance would be expensive. The existing Jones Act tanker fleet is already small (roughly 55 oceangoing tankers). Even if a court clears the title, commercial operators may prefer to scrap or sell the vessels internationally rather than convert them for domestic trade. Waivers have been used in emergencies, but a permanent Jones Act conversion of forfeited foreign-built tankers would be unusual.

The United States has taken cargo far more often than it has absorbed the hulls into the domestic fleet. The more probable outcomes for Majestic X, Tifani, and Lenore are forfeiture of the oil, possible sale of the ships, or continued government custody while litigation proceeds.

The Atlantic crossing now under way is the visible end of a multi-month enforcement campaign. The legal and commercial work—unloading, selling the crude, and deciding the fate of three aging, previously stateless tankers—will take longer.

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