US FORCES have boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean that loaded Iranian oil earlier this month.

The 300,000 dwt VLCC Tifani (IMO: 9273337), whose flag of registration is unknown, was boarded overnight between Monday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 21, the US Department of War confirmed via social media platform X. The vessel is sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The tanker’s Automatic Identification System shows the boarding took place between Sri Lanka and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Satellite imagery shows Tifani loaded oil from Iran’s Kharg Island earlier this month, though it left the Middle East Gulf before the US enforced its blockade.

Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.⁰⁰As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit… pic.twitter.com/EGwDe3dBI3

— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) April 21, 2026

“Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned Tifani without incident,” the Department of War said in its social media post.

“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran  anywhere they operate.

“International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of manoeuvre in the maritime domain.”

This latest boarding is reminiscent of the US’ campaign against Venezuelan traders, during which naval forces pursued and then boarded tankers across the seas that the US deemed had broken its blockade.

Last week, Washington claimed the “belligerent right” to visit, search and seize vessels carrying what it defined as “contraband”, a list of goods including crude oil and refined product.

As Tifani is not flying a recognised flag according to the IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System, it is effectively stateless.

That means it enjoys far fewer protections than that of a vessel properly registered, even in international waters. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, foreign warships can board a vessel if they believe it is stateless. Though it should be noted that the US has not ratified UNCLOS.

Tifani has since changed direction and is now heading south, rather than east, following the US boarding.