Three giant oil tankers under US control are sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, still carrying a combined total of about 6 million barrels of Iranian crude, after beginning their voyages from Iran and heading east towards Asia before changing course and sailing around southern Africa to the other side of the world.
Tankers' differing outcomes after US interceptions
Meanwhile, other tankers that US forces said they had intercepted during the same period remained in Asian waters, with some later discharging their cargoes there. Tracking data from the MarineTraffic and Kpler platforms for the routes of 8 tankers linked to US interceptions or seizures since last spring shows that the vessels did not all meet the same fate.
Three were placed under US control and became subject to legal proceedings covering both the vessels and the oil on board, while other ships continued moving around Asia and were later recorded as having discharged their cargoes. The 8 tankers do not represent every vessel handled by US forces during the blockade; rather, they are a group whose routes and cargoes could be tracked and compared with official US data, media reports and court files.
The differing outcomes highlight the distinction between intercepting or redirecting a tanker and boarding and taking control of it under procedures linked to the US Department of Justice. The cargoes still recorded on board are concentrated in the tankers Tiffany and Majestic X, listed in US court files as Phoenix, and Lenore.
Three tankers carrying about 6 million barrels
Kpler records show that each of the three tankers carried nearly 2 million barrels of Iranian oil, bringing their combined cargoes to about 6 million barrels. Tiffany, registered with the International Maritime Organisation under number 9273337, loaded about 2 million barrels from Iran's Kharg Island on 5 April 2026.
The data records no discharge of this cargo since then. Majestic X, carrying number 9198317, was recorded loading about 2 million barrels from Jask Island on 9 April. Lenore, registered under number 9259367, in turn loaded nearly 2 million barrels from Kharg Island on 20 March.
As of the time the data was compiled, Kpler records showed no discharge of the cargoes aboard the three tankers since they were loaded in Iran. Navigation tracks show that Tiffany and Majestic X reached waters off the northern coast of South America after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and entering the Atlantic Ocean.
Lenore followed the same route around southern Africa before continuing west through the southern Atlantic Ocean. Satellite imagery had documented Tiffany's arrival at Kharg Island to load oil from one of its berths on 6 April 2026.
After leaving Iran loaded with about 2 million barrels, the tanker headed east and passed near Dondra Head in Sri Lanka on 19 April before continuing towards south-east Asia. Tiffany's route was heading towards an offshore area near Malaysia known for ship-to-ship oil transfers.
Tiffany and Majestic X intercepted and taken under control
The United States later announced that US Indo-Pacific Command forces had intercepted the tanker on 20 April, at the request of the Department of Justice. US forces boarded it before a Navy team took control. The US Department of War said at the time that the team was securing the vessel, its crew and its cargo.
About 5 months after the operation, navigation data showed that the tanker had reversed course towards the west, sailed around southern Africa and entered the Atlantic, while about 2 million barrels loaded from Kharg Island remained recorded on board. Majestic X took a route similar to Tiffany's.
The US Department of War said its forces had intercepted it in the Indian Ocean on 22 April, two days after Tiffany was intercepted, and that the operation had also been carried out at the request of the Department of Justice. The department confirmed at the time that both tankers remained under US control.
Later, records from the federal court in Washington showed that seizure orders had been issued against Tiffany and Phoenix, the name listed for the tanker carrying the same International Maritime Organisation number as Majestic X. The wording of both orders explicitly covers the vessel and the petroleum products on board.
Lenore entered a similar legal process. Court records include a US case in the name of the tanker, registered under number 9259367, as well as covering “all petroleum products on board”. This places the three tankers and their cargoes within legal proceedings distinct from cases in which US operations were limited to interception or redirection.
Sky Wave discharged its cargo before being taken under control
The oil tanker Sky Wave, registered under number 9328716, presents a different case from the three tankers whose cargoes are still recorded on board. The tanker loaded 1,999,499 barrels of Iranian crude from Kharg Island on 4 March, but discharged the entire cargo before being taken under US control.
Kpler data recorded Sky Wave's cargo being discharged in the Eastern Outer Port Limits area, known by the abbreviation EOPL, off Malaysia, on 15 April. This was more than a month before US forces seized the vessel.
When the US operation was announced in May, MarineTraffic data showed Sky Wave sailing empty, contrary to media reports at the time that said about 2 million barrels of oil were on board. Court files also reflect this difference between the vessel's status and that of the other three tankers.
While the case titles for Tiffany, Phoenix and Lenore mention the vessels and the petroleum products on board, the Sky Wave case was registered in the vessel's name alone, without reference to an oil cargo. The US Treasury Department had sanctioned the tanker in March 2025 under its former name, Blue Gulf, while it retained the same maritime registration number, and said it had taken part in transporting Iranian oil.
The situation is also different for the tankers Dorena, Deep Sea and Seven. On 22 April, Reuters quoted shipping and security sources as saying that US forces had intercepted the three tankers in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The agency said Dorena was carrying about 2 million barrels, while Deep Sea was partially loaded and Seven was carrying about 65% of its capacity.
The report did not say that the United States had seized the three vessels or kept them detained continuously, distinguishing them from the tankers placed under US control and brought into court proceedings. Dorena, registered under number 9569669, loaded about 2,003,000 barrels from Kharg Island on 2 April.
After being intercepted, it did not take the western route followed by Tiffany, Majestic X and Lenore, but remained in the Asian region until Kpler data recorded the same quantity being discharged off Malaysia on 1 August. Deep Sea, carrying International Maritime Organisation number 9218492, loaded 2,003,000 barrels from Kharg Island on 2 April.
The tanker continued operating in the waters around Sri Lanka and Malaysia before the platform recorded the discharge of its entire cargo in the Strait of Malacca area on 19 July. Seven, registered under number 9357353, loaded 999,998 barrels from Kharg Island on 31 March.
Shipping data shows that it discharged 499,998 barrels in the Eastern Outer Port Limits area off Malaysia on 17 July. The case of the tanker Derya is less clear-cut. In a report published in April, Reuters said US forces were suspected of preventing the tanker from discharging its cargo in India, without confirming that it had been intercepted in the same way as Dorena, Deep Sea and Seven.
Kpler data shows that Derya, registered under number 9569700, loaded about 2 million barrels from Kharg Island on 28 March. It later recorded the full quantity being discharged off the Malaysian coast on 14 May, rather than heading west towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Derya later returned to shipping activity, with a new cargo of nearly 2 million barrels recorded as loaded during August. The tanker did not enter the western route taken by the vessels placed under US control, adding another distinction between the interceptions in Asia and the seizures followed by legal proceedings.
The terminology used by US Central Command helps explain some of the differences in the vessels' outcomes. In statements during the blockade, it distinguished between redirecting vessels that complied with orders, disabling vessels that continued their voyages, and other operations carried out at the request of the Department of Justice that ended with US forces boarding and taking control of vessels, as happened with Tiffany and Majestic X.
The command said in May that it had redirected 100 vessels since the blockade began on 13 April and had disabled 4 others. This description shows that redirection and disabling were separate operations from cases in which vessels were taken under control and later became subject to legal proceedings covering some of them and their oil cargoes.
When the first phase of the blockade was suspended in June, the US command said it had redirected more than 140 vessels and disabled 9. The blockade resumed in July, while the tankers under US control continued heading west with their cargoes and other tankers were recorded as discharging their cargoes in Asian waters.
