VIDEO: US Navy seizes Iran-linked tanker Majestic X

US forces boarded and seized the sanctioned oil tanker Majestic X in the Indian Ocean overnight, the third Iranian oil vessel intercepted by the US military in five days, the US Department of War said on April 23.

The 280,000 deadweight tonne very large crude carrier (VLCC), also known as Phonix and listed under IMO number 9198317, was identified by maritime databases.

"Overnight, US forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility," the department said in a statement.

The vessel was added to the US Office of Foreign Asset Control's (OFAC) Iran sanctions list in December 2024 for transporting Iranian oil as part of the Vision Ship Management fleet.

The seizure follows Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on April 23 and the US seizures of the VLCC Tifani on April 21 and container ship Touska on April 19. Majestic X was boarded in a location close to the Tifani seizure point in the Indian Ocean.

"International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain," the department said.

US seizure of vessels at sea had been uncommon until last year, when the Trump administration began increasing enforcement action against ships sanctioned for carrying Venezuelan oil.

Iran has repeatedly stated that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports is a fundamental obstacle to negotiations and has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to hostile shipping. Parliament Vice Speaker Hamidreza Haji Babaei said on April 22 that the first revenue from newly introduced Hormuz tolls had been deposited at the Central Bank of Iran.

China dispatched three warships to the Gulf of Oman on April 20 in response to the Touska seizure, describing the US action as a "coercive interception."