US widens shipping crackdown beyond the Gulf

• US says blockade has ‘global reach’
• Vessels in South Asian waters intercepted
• Iran claims seizure of two MSC ships

The maritime confrontation between the US and Iran is widening beyond the Strait of Hormuz, with US forces intercepting Iranian-linked tankers further afield as Tehran targets foreign commercial vessels.

Thirty one vessels have been directed to turn around or return to port under the US blockade targeting Iranian ports, according to US Central Command (Centcom). Two very large crude carriers, Hedy and Hero II, were intercepted earlier this week, it said yesterday.

Centcom said that both were anchored at Chabahar on Iran’s Gulf of Oman coast, around 540km away from the strait. Another tanker, Dorena, is reported to be under escort by a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after allegedly attempting to breach the blockade.

Iranian-flagged tankers have also been intercepted near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Reuters reported. Taken together, the moves suggest Washington is tightening pressure on Iranian oil shipments transiting into South Asian waters.

Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of maritime publication Lloyd’s List, said a US defence official had told him the effectiveness of the blockade was being judged “not by how many ships crossed a maritime cordon, but by the damage inflicted on Iran’s economy”.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had seized two Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)-affiliated containerships and fired on a third vessel while they transited the strait, widening risks for global trade and regional supply chains.

The vessels were reported to include MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, according to Iranian state-linked media.

Lloyd’s List said the US blockade had disrupted but not completely deterred Iran-linked shadow fleet tankers. At least 10 AIS-traceable tankers were reported to be ballasting into the Gulf on Wednesday, it said.

Centcom said: “The US military has global reach. American forces are operating and enforcing the blockade across the Middle East and beyond.”

Lloyd’s List’s Meade said shipping had been left “largely unchanged, paralysed inside the Gulf, recalibrating trade lanes outside”.

“We are left in a period of confusion where we are essentially waiting to see what happens next,” he told the publication’s weekly market briefing.

The IRGC Navy said MSC Francesca and Epaminondas had been targeted while attempting to pass through the strait “without necessary permits”, with two ships disabled and one fired upon.

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The United Nations shipping body, the International Maritime Organization, criticised companies continuing to risk transits through the conflict zone.

Its secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement: “The situation in the region remains extremely volatile. I cannot understand why companies would take risks and endanger seafarers’ lives.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has told Congress it could take up to six months to fully clear Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Washington Post.

Meade warned oil and freight markets could face a prolonged period of uncertainty, adding that reopening the waterway would not immediately restore normal flows.

“The disruption is not just a headline. It is structural,” he said.