According to Reuters, the Indonesian coast guard said on Tuesday it detained an Iranian-flagged tanker on suspicion of illegally transporting oil.
He further said in the statement that the vessel “Arman 114” was carrying 272,569 tonnes of light crude oil and was suspected of smuggling the oil to another vessel without permission.
This is not the first time Indonesia has detained an Iranian oil tanker, as reported by Indonesia on January 25, 2021. The coast guard detained the Iranian-flagged tanker “MT Horse” on suspicion of illegally transporting oil. In Indonesian waters, according to the agency.
Indonesia’s detention on the Iranian ship continued for about 4 months until its release in May 2021.
Iran said at the time that the tanker “MT Horse” was seized due to a “technical problem” and demanded that Indonesia explain the tanker’s detention.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the Coast Guard, has received information that the oil tanker…is suspected of violating the law,” Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Deku Faiz Sia said at the time.
The International Maritime Organization requires ships to use position detection devices for safety and transparency. Ship crews can turn off these devices in case of hacking or similar hazards. However, ships often turn off their devices to conceal their location if they are operating illegally.
Iran has been accused of hiding its oil sales target by disabling monitoring systems on its tankers, making it difficult to assess the volume of Iranian exports as part of Tehran’s efforts to circumvent US sanctions.
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