The IRGC naval forces seized the 1000-ton ship, named the Yahya Yahya, for smuggling 500,000 liters of diesel it had illegally collected from small vessels in Iran’s southern waters.
The Somali oil tanker, confiscated about 18 miles off the Iranian southern island of Qeshm, was destined for a Persian Gulf littoral state to sell its cargo.
13 crew on board the Yahya Yahya, all Somali nationals, were arrested and handed over to judiciary authorities in Iran's southern province of Hormozgan.
Diesel smuggling has long been a part of the illicit trade along Iran’s coastlines and water borders.
Iran sets its diesel price at about 4,500 Iranian rials a liter, (about 14 US cents at the open market rate), less than the price of mineral water.